Bridget
by GleeGeneration23
Summary: This is the story of Bridget Camille Voight. Hank's daughter and Justin's sister through the ups and downs and the episodes. Season 1-Season 4. Loose timeline. Now Complete.
1. Something Happened

**Hi, another story and my first from this fandom! This plot bunny was born after too many nights re-watching all of the episodes of Chicago PD especially the ones where Justin was involved. And then this was born.**

 **This story is running from Season 1-4 without Season 5 as otherwise this story goes on forever and those were in my opinion the better series. Also there is no fixed episode timeline though certain episodes will have an chapter dedicated to it but please don't be surprised if there are certain episodes that are skipped over.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine but Bridget.**

 **Also spelling and grammar is not the best thing that I can do so any inaccuracies and I apologise.**

 **Please Read and Review**

* * *

Bridget

This is the story of Bridget Camille Voight. Hank's daughter and Justin's sister through the ups and downs and the episodes. Season 1-Season 4. Loose timeline.

Chapter 1-Something Happened.

In which our characters are introduced.

* * *

Bridget did not get the update from social media (or that damned blinking thing on your phone that never goes off—as her Dad would call it) until after lunch. She had a study period and had checked her phone under the pretext of using it as a calculator before she tackled a truly nasty algebra homework. It was times like this that she wished Lexi was with her as she was the only one who seemed to understand how letters and numbers worked together but Lexie was in history a lesson that Bridget was passing with flying colours and Lexi was not.

Anyway she flicked through the updates on her news app and her accounts and then she saw it. Another Chicago cop had been killed and this time it had been one of the Intelligence Squad.

For a second Bridget Camille Voight had thought her heart had genuinely stopped beating. For a long second she sat there in her seat watching as the world blurred and then the second the teacher's back was turned she picked up her stood and made for the girl's loo without looking back.

There was a pause where she stood there before she took out her phone and then she flipped down until she saw her Dad's number. Still she paused for another second. She had to think about weather or not she wanted to ring. Bridget's father had always said if it was an emergency that nothing should hold her back from calling but she was also not stupid. She was a cop's daughter and this was not the first time that she had lived through one of them dying and the panic and the worry that it ensued.

But still.

Eventually she bit the bullet (so to speak) she pressed call.

It rang once.

"I'm fine" her Dad, Sergeant Hank Voight of the Intelligence Department of the Chicago PD said before she could even speak. Bridget leaned against the wall of the bathroom and she took a deep breath. The article had said that there was someone dead and she knew enough about the press to know that they were bound to report some of the truth.

"Who" she said through slightly gritted teeth. Her Dad understood what she was asking about instantly.

"Jules" he said finally after a second of silence. Bridget closed her eyes for a second. She had only met the blonde detective once but she had always been nice and she had seen the photo's off the husband and the two kids and the perfect life.

She swallowed bitterly for a second and then she nodded to herself before she realised that he couldn't hear her over the phone.

"I'm sorry" she said and she was. Like Bridget had said to many a person before she was a cops kid through and through and she knew the loss that one person was feeling was a loss that many of them were feeling but a part of her also knew that she was nothing short of relieved that it was the mother of two dead rather than her father and that was something that she wasn't going to dwell on.

Her Dad took it in spirt though, he may have noticed that she was lying through her teeth. There was a pause between the two of them.

"Do you know who killed her?" she asked finally.

"Yeah, look Bridge, do me a favour when you get home and lock the doors, you know how I feel whenever one of our own get's shot"

"Yeah sure" Bridget said "Is Justin gonna be there?"

Her brother who had only just got out of prision was not adjusting to living with them again. Bridget could understand if she was being honest with herself. She had spent most of her time when her Dad had been in prision with her half/step sister or whatever the hell Erin Lindsey was and she had, had more than a hard time adjusting to moving back in with her Dad when he had come out.

Things at Erin's had been different. It wasn't the nights where she had been working late. She had been on her own nine times out of ten, since her Mom had died when she was eleven and Justin and Erin had turned to other method's in order to deal with their grief and she had just turned to her books sitting alone in her room pretending that her heart wasn't breaking, when she had moved in with Erin she had, had the same philosophy. More and more she was finding that she was struggling with living with two men who were so alike they could no longer exist in the same small house.

"Bridge" her Dad said patiently and Bridget dragged her thoughts away from those places.

"So nothing from Justin?" she asked already knowing the answer. The silence was confirmation enough. She rolled her eyes. "I'll text him" she said finally. "He's going to answer my messages" The 'instead of you' was unspoken but she figured her Dad probably wasn't back in office and commanding a unit if he didn't know how to read between the lines.

"Good girl. Lock the doors when you get home ok? And don't let your teacher see you talking to me in class"

Damn. He always knew.

"Damn right I do" came the reply and then he hung up. Bridget shook her head for a second smiling the worry and dread abated for now. There was still some grief towards the nice woman who had died and left two kids motherless but Bridget knew it wasn't her Dad who had left her alone and she found that she was ok with that. It might be cruel but as long as she had her Dad she could marginalise other people's pain a bit better. Either that or Justin was right and sometimes she could be a right little emotional weirdo.

At least until she realised that still had math homework to do and no Lexi to beg for answers.

Fuck.

* * *

Bridget had gotten changed into a loose pair of jeans, her stripy jumper and had logged onto her computor before there was a knock at the door.

For a second she debated answering it. Her Dad, Justin and Erin all had their own keys and Al was not going to knock like he thought he was walking into a trap. Brushing aside some of her dark blondish hair and tying it back a little she opened the door without peeping through the peephole something that drove her cop father to the ends of the earth.

Holy fuck.

Standing there was hottest guy she had ever seen. Like seriously he must have had a jawline that was chiselled out of stone.

"Hi" he said smiling slightly. "You must be Bridget, I'm Jay Halstead…I err…I work with you father" He said it in that delicate way which meant that he was knew and was unsure weather or not he liked working with her Dad or was terrified off him.

Yeah, Bridget was used to this.

But then his words sunk in.

"He said he was alright?" It came out more phrased as a question rather than fact. Jay Halstead looked at her uncomprehendingly for a second and then realised what she must be thinking.

"Oh no, he is don't worry! It's just he asked me to come and collect you and take you to the prescient. Somethings happened. Nothing to do with him! But he…err…"

"Frightened the ever loving shit out of you?" Bridget asked. Jay Halstead looked at her for a second and then let out a relieved kind of laugh as if he had been wanting to do it for days.

"Yeah something like that."

"What happened?"

"Oh err…"

"I'm gonna get it out of him anyway Jay" she warned him. "But I'd rather know what I'm walking into"

"You know Antonio?"

Bridget let out a harsher laugh than she intended.

"Do I know the man who sent my father to prision with the help of his sister and her boyfriend?" It was a rhetorical question and Jay took it on merit and didn't even attempt to make a stab at answering it.

Smart.

"His son's been kidnapped. Diego. By the same people who…" He trailed off as if the memory was painful to him and Bridget knew who he was talking about instantly.

"Killed Jules" She supplied for him when it became clear that he was having trouble speaking.

Jay simply nodded.

"Damn" she said finally. While she mistrusted Antonio on principal she had never wanted this to happen. It came with the turf, most cop-kids knew that if that was even a thing (certainly she and Lexie had always known what to do if they were held hostage but she supposed their father's were up to their necks in stuff that neither one of them wanted to think about) but to hear that someone—and Diego, Bridget knew was a child not a teenager who might have some wits about them. She realised that she was thinking again because Jay gave a small cough.

She turned to him and for a second she wondered what he wanted from her.

"Your Dad. My boss." Jay elaborated and then Bridget sighed.

"Give me a sec" she said reaching for her bag. She grabbed her laptop, her homework and a couple of books as well as her toothbrush because experience had always taught her to be prepared when things like this happened and her hairbrush. Finally once she was ready she locked the house and then followed Jay.

Thank the Lord he was driving a regular car and not a police car. Should someone see her in that she might die of embarrassment. Bridget was sixteen. She was still a normal teenager. For the most part.

The car ride was mostly silent but she suspected that might be because Jay wasn't a great conversationalist with anybody who was not Erin. Personally Bridget wanted to know how Erin had a partner that good looking and hadn't told her about it. But all of that went out of her mind when she did arrive and she saw chaos descend.

"Sorry" Jay said flashing her a smile as if it was his fault that half of the Chicago PD was running around trying to find a major drug dealer with a perchance for cutting off heads (and if her Dad didn't want her to know that then he shouldn't have brought his work home and left it in a place where she could find it) and a kid to boot.

"I've seen worse" was all she said grimly. And that was true. She had.

She climbed the steps once she was buzzed in and then walked towards her Dad's office. Erin wasn't there, neither was Antonio which she was glad about. Someone else ducked in front of her with a small smile and she saw another rather good looking guy. Seriously was her Dad hiring on looks now or on talent?

There was a pause where she stood there for a second and then the door to her Dad's office opened.

"Bridget" came a voice behind her and she turned to see her Dad come out of his office. The strain of losing one of his detectives coupled with the fact that Antonio's son was missing had clearly left him in a bad mood but he still managed a smile for her and if his hug was a little bit tighter than usual well…experience had taught her not to mention it.

"Hey Dad" she said as he pushed her back into his office.

"Look I know I should have told you but I didn't know about Diego until an hour ago and then I wanted you somewhere where I could find you. So I sent Jay, but yeah I should have mentioned it."

"I get it" she said shrugging. "All hands on deck"

Her Dad nodded as she sat down on the couch and pulled out her laptop.

"You know you're a great kid" her Dad said finally.

"Say that to my bank balance Dad" Bridget quipped not looking up from her laptop.

She heard a snort in return and then the door opened. It was Antonio Dawson. He did a double take when he saw her and Bridget had to hide her smirk. The last time he had seen her was at her father's trial and she had personally enjoyed glaring at him as he explained what had happened and she had also personally enjoyed the furtive looks he had shot her as if he was unnerved by her.

"We need to talk" was all he said, ignoring her completely. Bridget scowled and punctuated her annoyance by typing rather loudly.

Her Dad nodded and then was gone.

She paused as soon as the door was shut. She did not know what hell it must be for Antonio right now but she did know her father's—preferred—brand of justice. The last thing she needed was her Dad back in prision. The thought made her hands clench into fists and then she swallowed heavily trying to shake the images out of her head. Her Dad had not let her visit him in prision claiming he had not wanted to see her but Bridget had known a lot of it was just saving face. She had allowed it then. But it had been hard and she could not do it again.

She flipped open her phone and then saw that Justin had still not replied to any of her text messages and she had to grit her teeth and get on with her homework assignment pretending all the time that her Dad wasn't looking for another child and that her brother wasn't missing while two children were sitting down to the news that their mother wasn't coming home much like had done nearly five years ago.

Erin came around ten looking tired with pizza which Bridget took to mean that she wasn't going home tonight.

"If I had known that I would have brought some pyjama's" she said finally tucking into a slice of meat feast. Erin grinned at her. They were sat in the empty bullpen and Bridget had commanded one of the chairs that swirled around and she was spinning in it.

"I wish he wouldn't get like this" she said finally. "It's been like this since Justin came home"

Erin nodded but didn't comment. Bridget was sure how much Erin knew about what life was like in the Voight home but she didn't say anything about it.

"Look your Dad's just being overprotective."

Bridget looked at her flatly. "Erin there's overprotective and then there's Dad and you and I both know that. I get why he's worried about Antonio's kid and everything that comes with it but I cannot spend the rest of my life hanging around this place. S'not for me"

Erin laughed taking another bite, "Your beginning to sound older before you actually are you know? You need to have more fun." She said this as more footsteps suddenly came up the stairs halting the conversation. Both women fell silent.

It was the other cute guy. He whispered something in Erin's ear—clearly he was going to pretend that she wasn't there. Erin nodded typing away and Bridget peeked up through her mascara covered eyelashes to see the newer officer.

"Hi" he said once he realised that she was looking at him. "I'm Adam"

"Bridget"

She waited until he was gone before turning to Erin again.

"Is it just me or is Dad going for looks rather than age? I mean I'm not complaining but…"

Erin just laughed.

* * *

Antonio safely reunited with his boy and the killer of his detective behind bars where he belonged with minimal blood spilled. All in all it was actually a good day considering it had started out so crappy.

Hank sent Erin on her way the older woman jerking her head to the office before taking Halstead up on that offer of a much needed drink. Al was gone too, cases with kids hit hard and Hank suspected that he had gone to see Lexie. The younger members of the squad had gone too but he cared less about them—some he had only known a day.

There was a pause where he leaned against the wall watching his couch for a second.

Bridget was curled on the couch fast asleep. Someone…probably Erin had found her a blanket but her laptop was on the ground and she was curled into the leather or his couch like a small burrowing animal hiding from a hunter.

Bridget had been somewhat of a surprise at a time when their marriage had really needed well…something of a boost. Hank had already been in shit with Camille what with giving Al money at the time and not telling her about it, the whole bringing home strays he found (though the whole debacle with Erin would come much later) and to cap matters off the fact that there was quite a lot of money growing in his safe that was not entirely legit. She had been the perfect copy of him when she had been born. Justin had been like his mother all dark and smiley, Bridget had been like him right down to the lighter brown hair and the same eyes and the personality traits which included the isolation and the desire to make her opinion known, and on more than one occasion quick to the temper.

She did however have some things connected to her mother. The only person who had loved books more than Bridget was his late wife. In fact between the two of them he had spent more money on books during Christmas and birthday periods than anything else.

He reached out and shook her on the shoulder and Bridget sat up as if she had been electrocuted. There was a second where she stared at him her face and hair half mused in sleep.

"Did you find Antonio's son?" she said finally.

"Yeah we got him. And everyone responsible is either dead or behind bars. And your brother decided to get in touch. He's at home. I told him what happened but he already knew something had happened, he reads the news app like you do. Pieced most of it together"

"Is he spending the night?" There was the something hopeful in her tone that made his hands clench into fists.

"I don't know" was all he said finally. And that was the truth because he was never going to know what Justin was doing until it was done and once again he was going to be left cleaning up the mess. Bridget didn't say anything for another long heartbeat and then she stood up smoothing her jumper down.

"Can we go home?" she asked finally.

"Yeah" he said smiling at her. "We can go home"

"You alright?" she asked packing up her books. There was something in her eye, some steely kind of glint that he knew she had gotten from his wife—Erin had picked up the same look. Sometimes it was like being threated on all sides by people who were far more scarier than the men he had just put away.

The truth was that he wasn't alright. His job was hanging by a thread, half of his unit was new and untrained, Antonio was a wild card he wasn't sure if he could trust, his son was emotionally distant as always and his daughter had gone from being that little girl who followed him after work with her books and colouring pad to a young woman who looked at him sometimes as if she knew far too much of what he was capable of and wasn't sure if it scared her or not. And to cap matters off he had lost a detective and had to search for a kidnapped child-two cases that pushed the best of cops to their limit time and time again.

"I'll be alright once I'm home and had a drink" He said truthfully.

He didn't know weather or not she had bought it. But to her credit Bridget didn't say anything.

"Alright" she said finally.

"Let's go home"

And home they went.

* * *

 **And let me know what you think. I will try and update sooner rather than later and always as regular as I can but what with work and uni I cannot make promises.**

 **Next Chapter-The relationship between Voight and Justin worsens putting Bridget in the crosshairs. Intelligence works two cases and Bridget and Lexi commiserate over their father issues as the father-daughter dance comes up. **


	2. Need To Know

**Hi, so here is another chapter, thank you all so much for your kind reviews so far and please keep them coming!**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **As I said some chapters will be episode sporadic but next chapter will be based on a specific episode so please keep that in mind when reading this one**

 **There are some conversations about drugs in this chapter and some underage drinking so please keep that in mind as well when reading this chapter.**

 **Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 2-Need To Know

The relationship between Voight and Justin worsens putting Bridget in the crosshairs. Intelligence works two cases and Bridget and Lexi commiserate over their shared father issues as the annual father-daughter dance comes up.

* * *

The relationship between her brother and her father had sunk to a new rock bottom. And that was really being generous. It didn't help that Justin had said in the middle of a rather nasty row that he was only here because he had nowhere else to go which was rather hurtful if Bridget was being honest with herself.

There was also something else that was worrying her. Her brother had suddenly come into a lot of money and that was something she worried about. There was a new jacket and new shoes and a new watch and to cap matters off the week the newly formed Intelligence Department was working a case that involved a load of missing weapons and a shootout or too that she heard about. Since Antonio's son had been recovered she had not been to the prescient since and she didn't want to. Right now she didn't want to see Erin who would undoubtably know what the hell was going on with her brother more than she would but she didn't want to.

Whatever Justin was involved in she didn't want him back inside for it. She'd keep her mouth shut for as long as she could.

The problem was what happened the following week after the gun case where she knew Justin had nearly started a fight at the gym with Jay Halstead (idiot, even she knew Halstead could kick his ass to the carpet without so much as breaking a nail never mind a sweat) when she was working on her laptop and there was a knock on the door.

She looked up to see her brother was standing at her doorway looking rather sheepish. It was an unusual look on his face.

"You need something?" she asked.

"Did you redo your room?" he asked looking at the pale purple almost greyish purple walls.

"Yeah when Dad got out of the clink" she said grinning. "But that's not what you wanted to speak to me about" she said. It wasn't a question, it was a fact and she didn't want to admit it to even herself but the fact of the matter was that her brother was not in the habit of spending time with her anymore.

"Are you going to this father daughter dance?" he asked finally. Bridget shrugged. "Honestly I'm kinda hoping a homicide comes up and Lexi keeps her mouth shut until the last minute but I suppose I will yeah. Why?"

"Well I got you something to wear with your dress. A little something because I know I've not been around much and I did miss a birthday and a Christmas when I was in the 'clink' as you aptly put it"

He reached out behind his back and pulled out a small box and another wrapped present.

Bridget took it from him and opened the small box. What she saw made her mouth drop open.

It was a watch. It wasn't just any watch though. It was a Cartier Tank watch and Bridget knew that the cheapest that those seemed to go was at the very least two grand. She stared for a second. It was beautiful, stunningly beautiful and yet so expensive.

"How the hell did you afford this?" she asked bluntly. Justin shrugged beaming. "Don't worry about that…let's just say I came into some cash, a mate of mine before prision came and…well…I suppose you do deserve it"

"Did you steal it?" Bridget asked. She didn't mean for it to come out the way it did but it did. Justin frowned looking at her. "No of course I didn't steal it" he snapped sounding annoyed. "God first Dad and now you…it is entirely possible that I did earn the money and I decided that instead of spending the money on myself I wanted to spend it on my little sister who I love very much. Now do you want the very expensive watch to wear to the dance to show up all of those bitches that tease you because your old man and your brother went to prison or do you want me to take it back to the nice shop assistant whose number I got?"

Bridget stared at him for a second and then she held out her wrist. Justin grinned and fastened on the watch. Bridget grinned as the silver strap glistened against the light.

"When Dad askes where I got this from I aint gonna lie for you" she sang as Justin hugged her and then grinned back at her. "Oh I know" he said finally and Bridget decided to ignore the fact that her brother seemed almost gleeful at the chance to have another row with her father.

But it was a rather nice watch.

Justin pissed off again she noted before her Dad was supposed to come home. He didn't say anything instead choosing to wink at her and then skip out the backdoor and Bridget took a second to stop stirring her pasta sauce to watch as he leapt over the side of the gate and then the front door opened and her Dad came in looking rather wan and tired.

There was something about that expression that didn't sit right with her. It wasn't the look he had whenever a cop was killed and it wasn't the look that he had given her when he had told her he was going to prison or that Justin was. Behind him was Erin.

"Hey" her Dad said kissing her on the side of the head as he passed. "Justin here?"

"Literally just missed him" she said trying to curb her irritation when she thought of her brother legging it over the fence to avoid a confrontation with their father.

"Pasta ok?" she asked finally accepting the hug from Erin as she half twisted in reply.

Of course when she did that, that meant her wrist was directly under the kitchen light and the watch started glinting like a manic beacon for the two seasoned members of the Chicago PD to see.

"Wow" Erin said reaching out to see her wrist. "Is this a Cartier Tank watch?"

"Yeah" Bridget said feeling her Dad's gaze suddenly sharpen without turning to look at him. Sometimes she thought that in a past life her Dad might have been a sniffer dog at a Thai airport.

"Did you rob a bank?" Erin asked and then she shook her head grinning. "Or did your sugar daddy buy it for you? I knew you would be the one that would surprise us all, I just knew it"

"Is there something you wanna tell me about?" her Dad asked coming back from where he had locked his gun away grinning. "Do I need to get my gun back out and reloaded?"

"Behave" Bridget said and then in a wildly transparent way of breaking the tension said. "How was the case?"

"It went fine and don't change the subject. Who gave you the watch?"

Bridget sighed. She had a feeling that he knew the answer to what was going on and she closed her eyes for a second and then opened them.

"Justin got it for me."

There was a long pause and Bridget turned to see her Dad and Erin sharing significant looks. She had to shake her head because neither of them were that good at hiding their emotions.

"He swears that he didn't steal it and I believe him and more to the point I don't want to give it back"

There was a pause where she stood there and looked at her Dad who was staring at his hands and thinking strongly. Bridget shook her head and turned back to the pasta. There was another awkward pause and then her Dad spoke in a would-be-calm kind of voice.

"Well let's see it then

It wasn't an easy end to the conversation and Bridget could understand why her brother had jumped over the fence rather than have this conversation with their father. But at the end of the day she had to admit that she was glad she got to keep the watch.

* * *

The next day Intelligence were still working the case about drug mules and Lexi had been suspended. Bridget decided to throw caution to the wind and bunk off at lunchtime and she found Lexi at the nearest coffee shop spooning a mound of sugar into her already sweet hazelnut latte.

"So" she said sitting down as Lexi looked shocked.

"Well fuck me" the younger girl said. "Bridget Voight bunking off afternoon lessons. Are you going to get yourself a tattoo and a pound of heroin as well?"

Bridget rolled her eyes stirring her coffee and taking a gulp of the black mess. She winced as the bitterness hit her in the back of her throat.

"So what happened?" she asked. Lexi sighed pulling her dark hair through her fingers.

"They found Bray's drugs in my locker and guess which parent they called into school? So now I'm suspended and banned from the dance and I'm here because my Dad forgot that Mom works today so I'm here pretending that I'm home thinking about why drugs are bad. You?"

"My brother came to me last night and bought me a Cartier Tank watch. Claims he didn't steal it but you should have seen the look on my Dad's face when he saw it. Of course Justin's get away was to lob himself over the fence and pretend that nobody had seen him."

"It's still bad then?" Lexi said and Bridget nodded.

"Did you ever take any of those drugs?" she asked finally.

"No" Lexi said looking around. "Why did you want some?"

"Sometimes I wonder if it will help" Bridget said grimly remembering the look on both her Dad and brother's faces when she had last seen them in the room together.

Lexi snorted and then she looked away and out the window.

There was a pause where they both sat and thought for a little while about their father's before Lexi threw down her hat and said…

"Fuck it. I didn't want to go to that stupid dance anyway and don't look like that Bridge we both know that you didn't want to either. I say we head back to mine and crack open one of mum's bottles of wine and we try and pretend that we don't have Dad's that give us migraine's."

And even though Bridget was not the kind of girl to do things like that, she nodded and followed her out of the coffee shop and down the street into the bitingly cold Chicago weather.

* * *

Two glasses of red wine and the appearance of Lexi's mother (which meant that Bridget had to half climb out of Lexi's window and jump down the drainpipe—something she had learnt how to do since childhood) meant that she had to walk home herself. She had blown off her classes and she managed to make it home and back into bed before she fell asleep.

There was the sound of a slamming door that woke her up an hour and a half later and she burrowed her face in her blanket and wished away the dryness in her mouth.

"Well…look her bunked off school" came a gleeful voice.

"Fuck off Justin" she said turning around so that she could bury her head in the pillow.

"Does Dad know?"

"I don't know does he?"

"Probably. Erin told me"

Bridget sat up and she didn't know why she was asking this question but she did.

"Justin…can you stay the night? For me. Please?"

For all the world her brother looked like he wanted to refuse but he dithered on the edge of her bedroom like he had the night previously where he had given her the most expensive thing that she had ever owned and he took in her expression which she supposed was rather pleading.

"Alright" he said kicking off his shoes. "Load up Netflix. And none of that Harry Potter. You're choices are so behind the box office"

She didn't care, he was here, and as her brother settled down into the bed with her Bridget clutched at him and wondered how to keep him here, safe and sound and not involved in whatever it was that she knew (because she was his little sister) he was up to his neck in.

* * *

 **And there you go please let me know what you think and I will try and have the next chapter published as soon as I can. **

**Next Chapter-As Detectives from New York arrive Bridget gets into a fight and Justin's personal drama's finally come to a head leading to a frightening encounter for brother and sister that will change their lives forever. **

**Enjoy**


	3. We The People

**Hi, so here is the third chapter, it does end on a little bit of a cliffhanger and I hope to get one more if not two published by the time I get back to university.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just the character of Bridget.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And let me know what you think. Trust me all of your reviews and kind words mean more than words can say.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 3-We The People.

As Detectives from New York arrive, Bridget gets into a fight and Justin's personal drama finally come to a head leading to a frightening encounter for brother and sister that will change their lives forever.

* * *

In all honestly she hadn't meant to get herself suspended. She had been hiding the detention for bunking off school for a week and more to the point things at home had not been better. Justin and her Dad were still at loggerheads. Something was going on between the two of them that Erin knew about it and nobody was telling Bridget anything.

The last time that had happened both her Dad and brother had ended up doing time and she was not going to go through that again.

Oh and there was a rapist running around Chicago cutting off people's ears but who was she to worry about that?

Anyway the suspension was not part of her plan but Billy Matthews had been joking about what a serial killer would do with ears and the next thing Bridget had known she had shoved her fist into his mouth.

And here she was suspended.

The only good thing was that her Dad was too busy to answer his phone and her headmistress (who might have gotten why Bridget had punched someone laughing about rape) had agreed to let her go early on the promise that her Dad would ring her and they could set out a plan to deal with Bridget's behaviour.

So that was something to look forward to.

She could go home but she figured she might as well look him in the eye when she told him about all of this and also her knuckles were bruised and Justin was at work. Her Dad was like a madman possessed when someone hurt his children and it always took him ages to calm down long enough for him to not reach for his gun or his badge.

Trudy Platt who she had known for years, had been manning the front desk with more than enough skill for as long as Bridget had known her and knew her Dad's mood better than Bridget did sometimes. She jerked her head up the stairs and the door was unlocked. She climbed upwards feeling weary and then blinked.

There was at least two people there that she didn't know. One was a long haired woman whose hair was blonde and glinting in the sun. She was impossibly pretty and Bridget Voight who had never considered herself such before watched her from the stairs with a pang of envy. The man next to her was taller, more stockier with a shaved head and beard and was dressed in more black leather than a Hell's Angel and they were peering over what looked like (at least to Bridget) a woman with her ear cut off.

She swallowed for a second and wondered if she could perhaps sneak through the gauntlet that was the space between the stairs and her Dad's office without being seen. The whole thing of a serial rapist on the loose was making her rather unnerved if she was being honest with herself and she found that she was suddenly rather desperate for a hug. Her Dad had never been the most affectionate of fathers and Justin had inherited that from him. Oh they loved her of that she had no doubt but they didn't show it in the best of ways.

Hence the watch.

And God only knows what else.

(And if Bridget was holding out hope for a pair of Sophia Webster heals with the butterfly wings that she had no outfit to wear with but wanted well then…that was between her and her maker)

"Hey" came a voice to her left and she turned to see her Dad come out of the interrogation room. He hugged her and Bridget found herself pressing back desperate for something that she couldn't explain. If he noticed he didn't comment but her Dad wasn't one of the best detectives in Chicago for nothing. He knew when something was up with her and the fact that she was in his office at lunchtime on a school day with bruised knuckles (she noted the raised eyebrow when he saw them) and the hand at the small of her back that was almost pushing her towards his office was clear.

"Err…Detective Amanda Rollins and her partner Fin, this is my daughter Bridget. These are Detectives from New York who are here to help with our rapist case. Anyway my office"

And before Amanda Rollins could so much as say that she was happy to meet her, her Dad had her by the arm and in his office and the door was closed leaving the two of them alone. Bridget decided to sit down on the couch deciding that she was going to not be in the eye of nearly half of the squad when the truth of the matter about why she was here did eventually come out.

"So" he said finally.

"I got suspended" Bridget said deciding to go with truth. "For the week. Some idiot joked about what he would do with the ears if he was the rapist and then the next thing that I knew my fist was in his mouth"

Her Dad blinked and then sat down behind his desk.

"Why did I think that Justin was going to be the one that gave me grief? I have an ex-con for a son and a daughter whose pissing her education down the drain. Jesus Bridget." he rolled his eyes and Bridget felt her teeth stick together in an effort not to say anything. After all she had put up with she thought that was a bit rich. She didn't say anything however. It didn't really matter.

"Something else you wanna say?" he asked finally. Bridget looked at him and she knew her expression was one of the utmost impassive emotion that she could summon up. It was again something she had learnt from her father. Secrets, lies, money and good poker faces. She supposed that those were one of the few things that you learnt when your father was Hank Voight.

Secrets and lies and all the shit that was in between.

Another thing you learnt—how to pick your battles and when to keep your mouth shut about them. This was not a battle that Bridget could fight. This war thing between her brother and her father, whatever it was that made Erin's smile not meet her eyes when she looked at her, all of the shit that was happening, Justin treating the house like a hotel and her adrift in a sea of complete confusion and still not being able to shake the worry that came whenever she thought that things might be about to fall to pieces again.

She bit her bottom lip as her Dad sighed taking her silence for what it was (and probably more considering) and then he stood up and walked out of his office to go and catch yet another criminal. Bridget collapsed on the couch kicking her boots off and wondered (not for the first time) if it was possible to still immigrate to Neptune. Maybe millions of years between her and her family might do them all some good.

She stood up and moved so that she was sitting in his chair. She figured she might as well do some internet surfing. Lord knows she was in enough trouble not to keep herself awake at night by snooping through her Dad's desk. As a child that had been one of her favourite things to do sitting on the floor watching him do paperwork and him hiding her crayons in his desk draw and telling her she would have to find the clues like he did.

Follow the breadcrumbs her mother had called it and Bridget had to look away least she start crying like an idiot to top this whole rotten week off.

It was then that she saw it.

Justin's phone log.

Her Dad was spying on him.

It was official she thought grimly watching him talk to the New York detectives. If Justin didn't kill him for this then she might.

* * *

Justin Voight was not in a good way. He was not in a good way at all. Firstly his Dad was up his ass again, his sister was apparently suspended (though good for her) and to cap matters off Erin had rang and said that Bridget had bunked out of her Dad's office post him catching the rapist with the strange affliction for ears (and yes he still got news apps thank you very much) and was now someone in Chicago.

Honestly the change in his little sister was almost—frightening. She had never been like that. Bridget had been shy, quiet and almost easy to deal with. She had never so much as raised an eyebrow at their Dad's behaviour or his let alone her voice. She was so like his mom that sometimes he had trouble telling the too apart.

But she wasn't his mom, he reminded himself sternly. She was his sister. His little sister and he still cared about her, more so than he did anyone else in the world.

Speak of the devil.

"Justin" he turned around to see Bridget standing outside of the bar looking cold and windswept and there was something about the set of her mouth that really did remind him of his mother. He had to violently supress his grin for a second. She was watching him with cold eyes and he thought that perhaps it might do him some good if he actually text his father this time and let him know that his daughter was not going wild in the aftermath of him closing a case that had kept him up at night (and look it wasn't like Justin didn't understand that one—rapists in the same city as his sister attaching woman left right and centre had kept him up at night as well) and was in fact out here with him.

"How did you find me?" he asked looking around. Bridget was smart but she wasn't his Dad level of smart where it was actually difficult to lie to him. Nor was she Erin's version of smart where if you lied to her you knew she would hunt you down and hurt you in ways you could not yet imagine. Bridget had neither the resources his Dad did nor was she as violent as he knew Erin could be, but she had found him nonetheless.

Bridget watched him for a second and then sighed. "Don't get mad. Dad's getting Erin to watch you and he's monitoring your calls. And I think he knows your friends with your old cellmate…I saw the lists in his office and I figured out that most of the calls were coming from here so I got a cab before Platt could tackle me to the ground"

Justin stared at her for a second. Furious though he may be he was not surprised that he was having this conversation. He had suspected his Dad was spying on him. Erin had been his puppet he thought savagely for most of her life and he knew Bridget well enough to know she had not condoned any of this.

And also…he may have overestimated his sister's intelligence.

"You'd make a good detective you know" he said. Bridget spat on the floor and Justin wrapped an arm around her hugging her close.

"I don't know If I'm scared for you or if I'm scared for Dad or what the two of you can do to each other but I know that I'm not ok with whatever it is that's going on Justin"

"I know" he said sighing. "It's nearly over though. One last thing and then I promise you it's done"

"Well not quite" said a voice behind them and Justin turned to see Joe. There was something not quite right about his smile and then Justin felt Bridget press into his side as if she was little all over again and trying to hide from something. He followed her gaze. Joe had a gun.

Oh fuck.

"Get in the car." Joe said indicating the car he had just got out of with his head.

"Dude come on she's my sister" he wasn't above begging in that moment Justin thought. He wasn't above begging for his sister to stay out of the shit that he had, had no choice but to be involved in. Bridget didn't look scared. Hell they were Voight's they didn't get scared easily. The last time he had seen his Dad scared was the night before his Mom had gone into hospital for the last time and she had been fine before her coughing had turned into her throwing up blood.

That had been the beginning of the end there and then. Perhaps his Dad had known that before but as far as he and Erin and Bridget had been concerned that had been the end of his Mom's life. Funny the things you remember when you have a gun pointed at you.

Anyway Joe was still standing there. Bridget was looking between him, the gun and her brother and Justin really couldn't see a way out of this. Joe wasn't stupid and Bridget wasn't either. He knew in the same way she knew who her first phone call was going to be to as soon as they had driven away.

"Joe" he said again because he just had to try. "Joe she's my sister. Man whatever you want me to do I'll do it but she's sixteen she doesn't need to be involved in this"

"Get in" Joe said waving the gun around like some wannabe mafioso. Justin had a feeling he might be able to take him but with his sister standing right there, the sky getting steadily dark and the fact that there was not a good place for Bridget to run and hide didn't help matters. Also he suspected his sister would not run and hide and he wasn't going to risk her life. His Dad really would kill him by the docks.

"Get in." Joe repeated and Bridget looked at him and then Joe had her by the arm. She pulled away and moved towards the car giving up but not before shooting his ex-cellmate a look that would kill and bury a lesser man and then she was in the car and Justin recognising defeat got into the drivers seat and prayed for the first time since he had gotten out of prision that he and the only person since his mother who had ever really stood by him despite it all would survive this insanity.

* * *

 **And there you are, hope you all enjoy and I will try to post the next chapter as soon as I can.**

 **Next Chapter-As Bridget and Justin recover from the night they have had. Justin puts together a plan that might be reckless. Erin rushes to stop it before Antonio and the rest of Intelligence figure out what is going on and Hank comes face to face with the fact that both of his children might be accessories to murder. **


	4. More Bad Than Good

**Hi, so here is another chapter and I plan to have one more published soon before time constraints get in the way. We are still on Season 1 but there are only a few more chapters of this arc before we go into Season 2. This chapter is also a little bit shorter than the others. This chapter also does jump around a bit as I wanted to focus on emotions rather than the action.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Bridget and this plot.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 4-More Bad Than Good.

As Bridget and Justin recover from the night they've had, Justin puts together a plan that might be reckless. Erin rushes to stop it before Antonio and the rest of Intelligence figure out what's going on and Hank comes face to face with the knowledge that both of his children might be accessories to murder.

* * *

When Bridget woke up she was unaware for one glorious second what had happened the night before. She did not remember getting into a car with her brother at gunpoint, she did not remember sitting there in the car while he had shot a guy and she did not remember the look of defeat as Justin drove them to a motel, her to shell-shocked to speak and bundle her into bed looking like he had aged ten minutes in ten seconds.

But then it all came crashing down around her with such a force she almost fell backwards off the bed. She remembered kicking off her jeans sometime in the night but she had shivered under the covers for a long time. Justin had crawled into bed with her, wrapped his arms around her and said nothing as she crawled closer to him desperate for some human contact.

She had never seen someone shot point blank in the head before. Justin had tried to get her to turn around but she hadn't. Bridget had watched someone die right there and then and be buried in the wet earth like a piece of trash.

She felt cold all over again.

The door opened and Justin came in, he looked as pale as she did and he was clutching two coffees and what looked like some fast food.

"You need to eat…yeah you do Bridget you suffered a major shock and a adrenaline crash halfway through the night. You need to eat"

He threw the paper bag at her and she took the coffee and the food pulling the somewhat dirty covers up closer so that she had a little more warmth. The coffee soothed her a little and once she had managed a couple of bits she turned to look at her big brother.

"Where is Joe?"

"Gone" Justin gave a long laugh though there was no humour attached to it. "He wasn't going to stick around. He's not gonna do it now anyway."

"Why now?"

Justin sighed. "He did a shitty job didn't he? They found the body this morning. And by they I mean Dad"

Bridget just got to the bathroom in time before she threw up.

Justin came and sat on the edge of the bath looking a bit more calmer than Bridget would have liked him to be right about now.

"Shit were screwed" she said weakly. "Were both accessories now to murder. We were in the car"

"Your fine" Justin said in a rather detached tone. "You're a minor who was kidnapped into a bad situation with a clean record. You don't have anything to worry about. Me on the other hand" He took a long drag of coffee and when Bridget turned to him she was surprised to see his eyes were suddenly overbright.

"I gotta run sis. Joe…he aint gonna stop and now he's dragged you into the mix. And Dad…well Dad aint gonna help. Not like last time. It's murder now not DUI. I'm fucked and I am not going to go to prision. I'll drive you back to Dad's and then I am going to go. I'll try and call you when I'm settled but fuck knows when that's gonna be"

It took a long while for Bridget's mind to unfreeze and when she did she exploded. Because Justin was not known for his great plans, and this…this was fucking disastrous. And she was damn well going to stop it.

How she wasn't sure but one thing was perfectly clear to her. Bridget was not going to loose Justin again.

* * *

Hank was going to kill both of his children. He had a sneaking suspicion Justin's shit had just come back to haunt him with the discovery of a body and a car that looked vaguely familiar. He also had not heard a damn thing from Bridget since she had left the previous night and he was going to kill both of them.

If Justin had gotten her involved in something…if that damn cellmate of his had hurt either one of his children…

"You heard anything?" Erin asked quietly.

"No" He said wishing that he had. These were his kids for Christ sake. Never before had he sympathised with parents when their teenagers ran away as he had in this moment—small children sure because Justin and Bridget had both done their fair share of escaping. Erin had too but she had been easy to track down but this…

And he knew that there wasn't much that he could do once the shit hit the fan. He was already in too deep trying to keep Justin out of trouble the first time and one more slip up and he was back in the joint himself.

"Look, Bridget's a smart girl. And she's probably with Justin. You know what he's like…he'll look after her"

She was placating him and she knew it. Hank shook his head.

"You don't know she's with Justin, and Bridge…well…you know she's, small and—she could be in someone's van right now for all I know—" he had to cut himself off abruptly because that thought was too painful to even think about.

Erin didn't say anything and before he could do anything stupid Halstead knocked on the door. Antonio it seemed had a lead on the driver of the car. This could not be good. Erin shot him a look that begged him to keep his temper and Hank had to force himself to his feet because he had known since the beginning of this case where it was going to lead to. Too many gut feelings it seemed.

"There's a passenger there as well. Two accomplices do you think?" Halstead pointed out squinting at the picture. "Is that…is that a woman in the back?"

And just like that Hank knew.

And so he reckoned did Antonio

Fuck.

* * *

Erin stared at the tape for a second longer willing herself to not see what she was seeing.

Hank next to her gave out a long sigh. He had known she thought what he was going to see but she still had trouble believing it.

She turned to him and was struck by the look of defeat on his face. Even when he had gone to prision she had never seen him like that. She forced her expression back to the screen thinking hard. There had to be a way out of this for both Justin and Bridget she just had to think about what she had to do and who she could count on as allies. Adam was too young at the job to lie, Al for sure would help. Antonio wouldn't, Jin probably and Jay? Fuck who knows?

"Hank it might not be what it seems" she said.

Hank let out a long laugh that was draining and frightening all at the same time.

"My kids are accessories to murder Erin. No way out now. Even if I could get Bridget off the hook as a minor with a clean record no way am I getting Justin out of a minimum of ten years…" He trailed off with a look in his eye that she could only say she had seen once or twice before. It was when he was thinking about Camille and Erin had to swallow down her anguish.

She needed to find a way to get rid of this tape. And then find her brother and sister and figure out what the hell had gone wrong.

Hank left after a while still with that lost look on her face. Erin put her head in her hands and tried to think. What she could do with now was a sign. Something that could tell her where the two of them were and what kind of trouble they were in.

And just like that her phone rang.

Erin almost jumped out of her skin. In fact the sound was so loud and her fingers so stiff with a coldness that seemed to chill the very blood in her body that she almost dropped her phone. She didn't even check caller ID.

"Yeah"

"Erin?"

It was Bridget. The thing was so creepy what she had wanted to happen, happening just when thought about it that she actually looked around just to make sure that she was alone.

"Where the hell are you?"

"Is Dad with you?"

"No. But he knows" There was no point beating around the bush about what the hell had happened that night. Bridget gave a sigh over the phone. Something about the way she was reacting told her that Bridget had known this was coming.

"Erin I need your help. Justin…he's gonna do something really stupid"

Erin gave a sigh, closed her eyes for a long second and then opened them again.

"Where are you?" she asked again through slightly gritted teeth.

* * *

Hank was leaning half outside the interrogation door before he opened it. He needed a second to think. There had been the overwhelming sense of guilt that had come when he had realised that not only were his kids in more trouble than he could have possibly guessed but that they were now facing charges and that he had failed the one thing that his wife had asked him to do on her deathbed. And then just when he had regained himself, dealt with Justin's cellmate and formed a plan he had walked past the interrogation room to see both his children there looking tired, pale and more than a little scared.

A rage the type he had never felt before engulfed him. It overwhelmed the relief in him that came when he noted that both his children were alive and that Justin had probably saved his daughter's life that night. He had no idea what the hell Antonio thought he was doing or who the hell he thought he was for that matter but then the cop he thought he would never trust pulled the rug out from under him and presented him with a solution that would save both his children.

Of course that didn't help Justin's perchance for trouble or Bridget's loyalty but it was better than sending both his children to Statesville and that was worth more than it's weight in gold.

He opened the door.

They were alone, pale, shaken but unharmed. Justin looked exhausted, Bridget just looked frightened. It was hard to remember looking at them both that they were twenty-three and sixteen. They seemed so much older than they were. They had that look…that look they had, had when he had come out of that hospital room almost a widower and they had been curled up together waiting for the inevitable.

He couldn't help it, they were his children. He opened his arms.

Bridget moved first. His girl hugged him so tight he thought that his ribs were gonna break and then Justin was next to her and he was suddenly aware that he could have lost both of them.

That Hank promised himself was not going to happen again.

* * *

Justin got out the car and turned to him.

"Tell Bridge goodbye" he said his tone dark with some kind of dislike that Hank had heard from him too many times before.

"If she lets you get that far…oh and also I know you don't get it because it's emotion and it's Bridge and we all know where she is on your pecking order after me and your Golden Girl but she's not coping. Not with you out of prision, not with me, not with anything. She's drowning Dad. Just in case you can tear your eyes away from how well Erin's doing to focus on your actual daughter"

And with that he turned away and walked into the recruitment centre.

Hank had to give his boy some credit. He had left him stunned into silence.

* * *

 **And there you go, let me know what you think.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget is furious and Lexi is adventurous leading to a party, some drinking, a bit of kissing and a murder. Hank tries to talk to his daughter. **

**Enjoy.**


	5. Aint That A Kick In The Head

**Hi, so here is another chapter, I will try and endeavour to have the following chapter posted sooner rather than later.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing but mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And this was a great chapter for me to write so I really hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 5-Aint That A Kick In The Head

Bridget is furious and Lexi is adventurous leading a party, some drinking, a bit of kissing and a murder. Hank tries to talk to his daughter.

* * *

Justin was in the army. Her father had taken her brother without so much as a goodbye and dropped him off at the recruitment centre and Bridget was so angry that she couldn't look at him in the days following. Oh she knew she had gotten out of that little scrape with the body by the sheer skin of her teeth and she knew that Justin had needed to get his shit together but how her Dad thought the army was going to change anything was beyond her. And more to the point he had done it without letting her say goodbye to him and he was acting like it was all ok.

The whole thing made her so angry that she could barely talk to him.

Thank God for Lexi. Her friend seemed to understand exactly how she was feeling and had offered to take her to a party Saturday night in order to cheer her up. Bridget didn't see how that was going to do anything because if her friends were strange then Lexi's were damn right certifiable but she needed to get out of the house and so she left her Dad a carefully worded note with a little dig at how if he didn't like it she would prefer the Navy over the Army and then she was out of the house and taking a cab to Lexi's who was dressed in a red dress that was so tight Bridget thought it a miracle that she could breathe.

"Good God woman don't you have one revenge dress in your closet? Honestly. You don't go to parties in jeans and a lace shirt even if it does show your arse off"

She rifled through a box in her closet that Bridget had never seen before and then came out with a black number that made Bridget just want to curl up in bed before she wore. Her friend grinned at her.

"Honestly Bridge you have great legs and this shows them off. Go try it and I will get the black shoes out"

"Thought you said they were too slutty to wear?"

"For me but you have the better legs and you can wear tights with it if you want"

Bridget stared at her for a second and Lexi caught the expression with an eyeroll. "Come on. When was the last time you did something wild, besides nobody we know is going to be there and therefore nobody is gonna know you're a cops daughter, same as me—so we can have some real fun and if you don't like it then we can come home"

Bridget took the dress and sighed.

What the hell. It wasn't like she had very much else left to loose was it?

The dress was tight and it had one of those corset things that sucked in Bridget's fat. It was black with no sleeves but thick straps and instead of a zip at the back it was laced up at the front so that all she had to do to take it off was unlace it and push it downwards. It was the most risqué thing that Bridget had ever worn especially considering there was no way she could wear any kind of bra with it. It was the kind of thing she thought as she applied a darker lipstick to her face and let Lexi tousle her hair so it looked like she'd just fallen out of bed that her father would never let her wear and considering the way she was feeling about him right about now was just an added bonus.

"Damn" her friend said grinning.

"I know" Bridget said and the two of them dissolved into laughter.

* * *

The party was in an abandoned house where it had been converted to look like there were many bedrooms. It was the home Bridget suspected of where half of the artists of Chicago were staying and the party was in full swing when they got there. There was no doorman and loud music and drink and the cute guy behind the makeshift bar with dimples to die for got them both a vodka lemonade.

She soon lost sight of Lexi who was immediately taken up with offer upon offer to dance and Bridget took the opportunity to climb up the stairs away from the noise. There was written alongside one of the hallways as if someone had taken a marker pen and written across it and she found herself grinning. It was poetry, basic poetry and what looked like some fanfiction mixed in but it was clearly done by someone who knew what they were doing and suddenly Bridget found that she really wanted to come back to this place and just look around.

"You lost?"

She jumped turning around to see a boy leaning against the wall beer bottle in hand. He was tall with dark hair and dimples and was dressed in jeans and a jumper. He pointed at the work.

"Like it?"

"Bit morbid. Shakespeare is a bit better"

"Ah" he said laughing and leaning his head against the wall and holding out another beer bottle.

"So you're a Shakespeare girl?"

"And if I am?"

"Then I like you more and more" he held out his hand. "Oliver"

"Bridget"

"You wanna talk Shakespeare in my room Bridget?"

Bridget nearly choked on her beer. "Is that supposed to be a pick up line?"

"No. It's a genuine offer"

"My arse" Bridget said shaking her head. Oliver grinned.

"Well…now you mention it"

"Behave"

"Ok…so you wanna talk or not?"

She bit her bottom lip and then shrugged. Lexi was off doing something or probably by now doing someone and she had nothing to lose.

"I should tell you my fathers a cop"

Oliver nodded. "Good, I should tell you mine's a reporter so…I think there both gonna think the other are the worst men in the world"

Bridget laughed again she couldn't help herself.

"I should also tell you I don't want a boyfriend"

"Nor do I want a girlfriend. So no pressure. I just wanna talk books with someone who I think might get them. And If that ends up as something else tonight then…that's in the hands of the Gods"

She fired of a text to Lexi—not that she would get a reply and then she followed him into the room willingly.

Fuck it all

* * *

Lexi was shaking, she was shaking and Erin's hot cocoa was not going to change that. Soon enough her Dad would be here and then there was going to be the questions to answer and that was before Uncle Hank asked her where the hell Bridget was not that she actually knew. Bridget had sent her a text the night before saying she had scored (and Lexi who had been pretty drunk and who had scored herself) had not complained and had gone for a 'walk' with a boy who was now dead in the snow.

She still couldn't get that damn scream from his mother out of her head. Would her mother scream like that she thought, if it had been her who had died? She shuddered again and took a sip of cocoa before she threw up on Erin's desk.

"Hey kiddo?" came a voice and she turned to see Uncle Hank looking at her as if she was dying. She swallowed and then looked down at her shoes.

"Hey" she said in a weak voice.

"Lex…did you see Bridget at all last night. She said she was going to this party with you?"

And there it was. That was the question that she had been dreading. Not only did Lexi now have to deal with the trouble she was in but Bridget was now in trouble as well. She reasoned however that Bridget might be better off in trouble rather than dead. So she looked Uncle Hank in the eye and told him the truth. With any real luck Bridget would forgive her at some point in the next century.

"She scored"

Jay Halstead who was sitting on the other side of Erin's desk snorted into his coffee. Erin shot him a look that made him immediately adopt an expression fitting to the beside of a very dear sick friend. Uncle Hank suddenly went very still as if all of his worst nightmares were coming true at once.

"She what?"

"She…err…we were at the party at the Warehouse district in one of the buildings where the creative people stay you know the artists and writers and such and I went for a walk with…" she swallowed harshly not wanting to say the name.

"But Bridge sent me a text saying she had met a guy and that she was staying and something about reading Shakespeare together—"

"Wait is that a legitimate come on?" Jay Halstead interrupted looking like Christmas had come early. "I thought Will was the only one who had tried—" he trailed off when he realised that everyone was staring at him coughed and then turned his expression back to his desk looking serious.

"I didn't hear from her again but Uncle Hank…it's Bridget I mean she's mad as hell at you for what you did to Justin but she's not gonna do anything really stupid. She didn't even want to go, I made her and…it's my fault"

Uncle Hank hummed and was already dialling on his phone. Lexi could feel the years she was going to be grounded for this slip away.

"She won't answer. I tried…she's…well her phone is going to voicemail."

"Jay…"

"Yeah I got it, Ill send Burgess and Atwater and get her back to the district. You want the boy too if she's with him?"

This Jay person must like living life dangerously Lexi thought to herself because he kept saying things that would probably get him killed.

"No you don't want the boy…" he said interpreting the death glare that he was getting and Lexi had to look away least she start grinning despite it all.

She turned her expression and saw her Dad coming up the stairs. Never in all of her life had she been so glad to see him. Even in these circumstances.

* * *

Bridget wasn't hungover. She was tired and her mascara was sticking to her eyelids but she wasn't hungover. She and Oliver had…well…they had done everything but the actual act after watching nearly every copy of the film Romeo and Juliet that they could find. Bridget swallowed sitting up. She was still wearing her underwear and shoes so that had to count for something. Lexi she knew had done so much worse.

She got dressed silently. Oliver was watching her and then he stood up pulling on his jeans. There was a tattoo right over his shoulder and he grinned as he passed her, her now long dead phone and her bag.

"Well last night was fun" he said winking. "Come on I'll walk you out."

They walked down the stairs. So many people lived here and Bridget found that she wanted to live here too. Last night had shown her that it was a hotspot of creative people living high on life and not much else. It was almost intoxicating. Despite being half naked Oliver threated his arm around her and they walked out into the sunlight together.

"Well I know we said this was a one off but if you ever want to talk Shakespeare or anything else then you know where to find me" he winked again and Bridget was just about to smile and say something back when the moment was rudely interrupted.

"Bridget Voight?"

She turned and saw the two cops who had been in the squad room that time when Antonio's son had gone missing. She had no idea what their names were because quite frankly she didn't care but the fact of the matter was she knew who had sent them.

"Oh tell him to fuck off" she said bluntly turning her back on them. "If he doesn't like it tell him to ship me off to the Navy."

There was a pause where she imagined the two beat cops were thinking over this but she was more interesting in making sure she still had her wallet and by the time that she had turned around it was still clear that they had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh look, I'll go home charge my phone and then call him. Ok?"

"No" the woman said and Bridget turned around slowly hoping against hope that she had managed to pull off the same disinterest and disdainful look that her father managed to pull off whenever someone annoyed him.

"Excuse me?"

"No, look your father told us to bring you too him and that's what were gonna do because he frightens him more than you"

Bridget closed her eyes for a second and then opened them. There was really no winning with her father was there? She turned to Oliver. "See you around" she said and then she slid into the car feeling ungraceful and bloody annoyed.

"You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?" she said crossing both her arms and legs.

The one whose name she remembered was Atwater suddenly opened his mouth and Bridget felt an already ruined morning go from bad to worse.

* * *

It was Antonio who came and told him. "She's downstairs. According to Platt she's unharmed but in a bad mood. Also she would like to remind you that if you strangle your daughter in front of witnesses she's going to have to be stuck with the paperwork"

Hank put down the file he had been reading and then sighed trying to collect his thoughts. He opened one eye and saw Antonio grinning at him.

"I don't know why you are so pleased" he said standing up. "This is coming your way next"

And that wiped the smile of the little bastards face Hank thought viciously.

Bridget was waiting for him in the conference room downstairs. She was sat down and someone probably Atwater had given her a police jacket. Hank took one look of what his daughter was wearing and made a mental note to recommend Atwater at the next promotion hearing.

He slammed the door shut closed the blinds and then very sternly reminded himself that he could not strangle his daughter because even if Platt didn't kill him, his wife would find a way to do it from beyond the grave.

"Oh you better have a spectacular explanation for this shit" he said finally.

"I went to a party and my phone died" Bridget said turning to look at him. With the set of her jaw like that and the flashes of anger in her eyes the resemblance to Camille was suddenly breath-taking.

"Do you know the boy Lexi was with was shot? That she's now a material witness? That she didn't know where you were and that scared the shit out of me?"

And now he was yelling.

"So ship me off somewhere. Your good at doing that whenever one of your kids annoys you aren't you? Jail, the Army…"

And now she was yelling.

"Don't Bridget. I mean it, you don't know what Justin was involved in"

"I was in that car" she yelled at him and the force of it nearly knocked him backwards. "I was in that car! So yes I do know what shit he was in and when he was prepared to run I told him to come to you and then you shipped him off so you could save your career."

What the—?

"Bridget this had nothing to do with my career. Your brother was drowning had been doing it since your mother died and I didn't know what else to do. Do you think I wanted him to go to the Army? You think I wanted to be put in that position?"

"Do you know what it was like when the two of you were inside?" she said suddenly.

"I had nobody. I had Erin and for all you say she's family, she's not, not like you and Justin are, she's not blood so I was alone. I was completely alone and you were a cop in Gen-Pop Dad so that didn't help matters whatsoever. And then you came out and you went back to work and Justin came out and things were finally beginning to be good because the three of us were under one roof and then this happened. And I knew Justin was into some shit but…he didn't deserve to be thrown away like he was a takeout gone wrong"

Hank sighed.

"I know you were struggling with me inside Bridge it's why I didn't want to see you. And I survived through it because I knew people inside but that didn't change anything. Justin was in trouble. He killed a kid Bridge and I couldn't keep cleaning up his messes…and I couldn't clean up this one Antonio had to do it. I had to get him out before this life consumed him and I did"

Bridget scoffed. He sighed again.

"Did that boy hurt you? The one you were with? And yeah Lexi told me because she was terrified that whoever shot her friend might have shot you"

"No…we…err…we read books, all night"

Her father shot her a very sceptical look. "Bridget I was not born yesterday, did you…err…did…you use…"

"Oh god I am not having a conversation about my sex life with you" Bridget cried her horrified look in perfect alignment for how Hank was feeling right now. "Nothing happened, just ground me and get it over with"

"Bridge" he said sitting down. "I could ground you and I will but you don't get it. When you do disappearing acts like that—it scares the living crap out of me. And I get your angry about Justin but I promise you one day you will understand why I did what I did and what it cost me to do it. I know what having the three of us under one roof again meant to you but Justin was not coping and there is only so much I can do with him—he's a man he had to accept some responsibility for his actions. The same way you do. So please for me do not disappear like that again"

Bridget watched him for a second longer and then nodded. "But promise me" she said sitting up so that they were face to face. "That the next time something involves me you come to me. I don't want a repeat of what happened with Justin both times or with you and your prision sentence or the safe in our house. If something affects our family then tell me please Dad because it was unbearable being in the dark like that"

Hank could do that. He supposed. He nodded.

"Is Lexi gonna be alright?" Bridget asked finally.

Hank nodded again. "She's tough and she knows her own mind…by the way…is that dress yours? Because if it is I want you to burn it"

Bridget snorted with a laugh that she couldn't quite cover up.

"No. It's Lexi's. But to be fair she was right about me having the legs to wear it."

"Yeah darling too much information."

Bridget laughed again and then Hank pulled her into a hug. He wanted to yell at her some more, he wanted to scream and shout and ground her so she would never set foot outside the house again. This case with Lexi, what she was going to have to go through could have easily been Bridget. Hell the other night it was Bridget. So right now as scared and as worried and as angry as he was with his impulsive, reckless and damn right fearless daughter he was just simply glad that she was alive.

It was hard he realised to acknowledge that Bridget was no longer his little girl but a grown woman. He imagined the boy that was with her and he had to swallow back the urge to go find him. Somewhere, whatever was beyond his wife Hank Voight knew that his wife was laughing at him and he found he couldn't help but smile into his daughter's hair when he imagined it.

* * *

 **And there it is, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will try and update sooner rather than later.**

 **Next Chapter-There is a bomb at a charity event. Bridget is caught up in it having made a decision about her heath (that she has not told her father about) and Hank tries to catch the criminals behind them without thinking about the what-ifs**


	6. The Unnamed

**Hi, so here is another chapter and this one does cover bombing so if this triggers anyone then please stop reading here.**

 **Also this chapter does discuss birth control-the birth control that Bridget describes is known as the implant-it is something that can be got in the UK. I dont know if it something you can get in the US and I also dont know the various payment issues surrounding it or consent so anything comes across as wrong then I apologise. If for whatever reason you want to skip this paragraph then you are more than welcome too.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **And we have only two more chapters of the Season 1 arc.**

 **I am back at uni so updates might be a bit longer but I will try and update sooner rather than later.**

 **Please enjoy and read and review and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 6-The Unnamed

There is a bomb at a charity event. Bridget having been caught up at it is at the hospital (having made a decision about her health that she does not want her father to know) and Hank tries to catch the criminals without trying to think about the what ifs?

* * *

Bridget had woken up the first day after she had been grounded for a month and had decided to do something about it but she had spent the time grounded and therefore she had been struggling with the decision before she was finally free to bunk off after her school day and go to Chicago Med so that she could finally get on birth control.

She had not decided to do this lightly and she had also decided not to tell her Dad that she was doing it because…well…the man had just gotten over that whole party with Lexi thing and she didn't want to hear the words 'Sex Life' and 'Protection' out of her Dad's mouth again.

Some things Bridget knew didn't need sharing between father and daughter and this was something she knew how to do on her own. This was an implant that would stop her periods and stop her from getting pregnant. Of course she would still have to ensure that the man used something but all in all it was better than nothing and she was very well aware that she was only a virgin still because she had, had the good sense to not allow a boy to sleep with her without ensuring that she was protected.

That Bridget was pretty sure was her mother's presence from beyond the grave.

Anyway she had been heading to Chicago Med without realising until she had gotten there that there had been some sort of run. In hindsight she had been very relived actually because she had been hoping to duck around the Chicago Fire Department who were certainly fifty-fifty on her opinion of her father considering all he had done to ensure that her brother had not gone to prision.

The first time after all.

She had been waiting in the reception area unsure of what to ask for when the blast went off. The whole room seemed to shake and Bridget skidded almost to the desk feeling her body scream in protest when it hit something. It took her a second to open her eyes and realise that whatever had happened it was something bad and that she did not want to be in this building when it all came crashing down around her.

Instinct taught her nothing else. She was a cops daughter through and through and so she pulled herself to her feet realising that her jeans had become ripped at the knees with the force of how far she had gone across the room but that she was still alive and bar the occasional twinge of her knee whenever she put her weight on it she was alive.

(Considering the mess that it seemed the whole world when she reached the outside doors a twinge in her knee was not something to cry about)

She sat down on the edge of what she suspected had once been a desk and tried to breath. The last thing that anyone needed when they arrived (and make no mistake PD would be out in droves when they got wind of this) was her falling to pieces because she couldn't keep it together.

No. She was going to keep it together, she had buried her mother, lost her brother (twice) and seen her father headed to prision and she was not going to fall apart now.

And with that Bridget took a breath and another one and found that despite everything she was ok.

And she was not going to complain about that. There was a pause where she stood there and then she began walking down the street away from the run until she found a place to sit just outside of what she suspected was what was going to be the police barrier and she waited. With so many people around she didn't know what to do but experience had told Bridget that if she waited someone in a uniform would find her and then even if the phone system was down she would be able to at least send word to her father that she was alright.

So she sat there and waited and tried to rub away a bit of the dust that was on her leggings even though in the back of her mind she knew that it would be no good.

But she was alive so Bridget wasn't going to knock that on the head.

* * *

Erin had started running towards the bomb blast when a figure sat alone on a bench made her skid to a halt so much so she nearly ran into the back of Adam who was running even faster than she was.

It was Bridget. For a second Erin couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. So she crossed the road to the girl she considered her little sister who was sat staring at her knees as if they were holding the answers to her questions and she bit her bottom lip looking up as Erin ran towards her.

"It's ok" Bridget said before Erin could so much as open her mouth and say anything. "It's fine honestly Erin I was furthest away as I could have been the only problem is that I've ripped my new leggings."

Erin could have sobbed at the thought that all she would have to tell Hank when he arrived was that his daughter had ruined her new leggings. Compared to the alternative it was nothing short of miraculous. She sat down on the bench and wrapped both her arms around Bridget who despite being a strong woman of nearly seventeen wrapped both her arms back around Erin and didn't let go. They stayed there for a second and Erin saw Jay approaching his face going white when he saw who was sitting with her. Erin shook her head trying to articulate that it was not as bad as it seemed and Jay relaxed somewhat when they pulled away and he could see that Bridget was still unharmed. He made a movement with his head and Erin far from being a mind reader interpreted it as he was going to tell Hank that his daughter was alive. She would have told him not to do it because Hank was going to be like a man possessed with a case like this anyway even without knowing his daughter could have been one of the victims. Bridget took a breathe and wiped her eyes and Erin always cautious to how Bridge was with her emotions carefully looked away until she had herself under control.

"I was getting birth control" she said finally. "And then the earth just…I dunno moved…I know it sounds corny Erin but that was what it was like and…oh God I left people in that hospital didn't I?"

"You did exactly what you had to do to survive" Erin said sternly knowing where her almost/kinda sister was going with this. "Don't blame yourself now Bridget you didn't do anything wrong I promise you."

"I know I didn't" Bridget said finally. "I know that but…well…you know what it's like" she leaned back against the bench and took a deep breath looking around and Erin knew she was looking for her father. She wrapped one arm around the girl whose eyes were still blown and wide.

"I don't want Dad to know I'm getting birth control" she said finally and Erin could see why. She nodded because what else was she going to do but Bridget turned to look at her and then she smiled though it was wide and so fake it made Erin's teeth hurt just looking at it.

"Understandable" she said finally.

The moment was ruined by Hank who came running towards them Jay behind him and before Erin could so much as open her mouth to tell him that his daughter was alright he had all but pushed past her into Jay and had pulled her into his arms.

"You ok" he said and it wasn't even a question it was a statement, a half rushed statement in which he didn't even seem able to form complete scentences and it was more to himself into Bridget's hair and Erin was suddenly thankful that nobody least of all Jay could see Hank's expression. It was so painful and so private that it was like seeing him at Camille's funeral all over again when he had sent his children home and sat at that grave for hours with nobody but Al there with him.

"Yeah…I was here for the run…" Bridget lied and Erin couldn't help but shudder a little at the lie. While she fully respected Bridget's decision to take some responsibility and put herself on birth control and while her heart went out to her doing it alone (Erin had at least had Camille and more to the point Erin herself would have come with the girl if she had asked but Bridget was at time more independent than Europe) she had a feeling that Hank would soon find out and then Erin supposed she would have to emigrate somewhere and wait out the storm in hiding. Because…well…Hank was not exactly known for being stable when it came to his children (and she included herself amongst them) and boys.

"I'm fine Dad really I am. It's just my leggings…I think it's shock as well cause the last time I felt like this it was after Mom and I'm pretty sure that one was shock as well."

Erin swallowed and Jay who was watching shot her a look. She sent him another look and then he nodded muttering something about finding Atwater and giving them a moment together.

"Wait" Hank said stopping him. "I want you to take Bridge home."

"Dad I can help" Bridget said but it was fake and even Erin could hear it even if she was trying to hard. Bridget was shaking still as the adrenaline hit her body with what she had just escaped.

"No" Hank said and Erin moved away so that he could say goodbye to his daughter and speak to her and calm her down. She took a deep breath and saw Jay leaning against the car that he was going to use she supposed to drive Bridget home and she turned to face him.

"She's tough" Jay said finally his eyes on Bridget. "She's really fucking tough. I knew she would be because she's Voight's kid but she's tougher than she thought I would be. She's really damn tough. He should give his daughter more credit"

"He does" Erin defended. Jay shot her a long look that said quite seriously that he didn't believe a word that had just come out of her mouth.

"Well he should" was all her partner would say as he turned to walk towards his car.

Erin didn't know what to say to him. In all honestly she didn't know what to say about this situation full stop. Instead she took a deep breathe turned away and went to see if there was anyone who needed her help.

Jay watched her go and didn't say so much as a word.

* * *

Hank took a deep breath when he opened his house. They had got the guy, finally, they had gotten the guy and all of those unnamed victims that had suffered today were going to be named in the following days but he didn't care because _they had got the guy._

 _And both of his daughters could have been killed._

Erin and Bridget could have been killed today. And that had sent him straight to Molly's with a scotch and several beers until one of the bar staff had told him that if he didn't stop now then they would have to take his keys off him. That was alright with him. It was cold and he relished the burn of the snow and the wind against his thin jacket.

Bridget had been curled up on the couch watching some old episode of what looked like Grey's Anatomy. She looked up when he came in and he took in the fact that she was curled like a cat on his couch wrapped in a blanket. She put the TV on pause and sat there looking at him as he walked to the kitchen and got a beer. He had to clench his fists to stop them shaking and he hoped Bridget would acknowledge it as cold rather than seeing it for the fear that it actually was.

"Did you get him?" she asked coming to stand behind him. He turned around and managed something that looked like a smile though it felt cold to him and false and crappy. Bridget stared at him for a second and Hank had not been kidding himself the resemblance to his wife that was shown in his daughter was getting more and more pronounced as she was getting older and older. Camille had that way of seeing right through him that she had.

"Yeah" he said finally taking a swig of beer. "We got him"

There was a pause where she stood there and then he closed his eyes and opened them. Her expression still had not changed.

"You want pizza?"

"Can we get sushi?" Bridget asked looking excited at the prospect of raw fish on his credit card. But she could have died today and Hank didn't have the energy to fight the little battles when confronted with that fact.

"Ok. But I wanna watch my choice of movie tonight"

"Fine" Bridget said pushing herself off the side of the wall and moving so she could whip out her secret sushi menu that she kept for situations where she knew she had the upper hand.

"No westerns ok, and something in colour. You know from like my century"

"Cheeky" Hank deadpanned, Bridget flashed him a grin.

"Can I have a beer as well?"

"Dream on sweetheart"

Bridget smiled and Hank smiled back and right there and then that was enough.

That was always going to be more than enough.

* * *

 **And there you go, I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Next Chapter-Part one of the end of the Season One arc-As Hank makes a deal with the devil, Erin's in trouble and Bridget is caught in the station as chaos descends. **


	7. A Life Earned

**Hi, so here is another chapter and the first part of the season end for season 1. I hope you all enjoy and I will try and have the next chapter up sooner rather than later.**

 **Again I don't know much about American health insurance or birth control so that part of this story is just guesswork and if it is wrong then you can skip any mention of that.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing Is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review**

 **Thank you all who have read this story and enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 7-A Life Earned

Part One of the end of Season One arc-As Hank makes a deal with the devil, Erin is in trouble and Bridget gets caught up in the crossfire at the station as chaos descends.

* * *

Bridget knew that something was wrong when she set foot in the station three days after the bombing and Antonio Dawson who was scowling at the edge of the table as if it had personally offended her looked up from where he had been waiting to get some paperwork from Platt and then blanched white when he saw her.

"Oh no" he said reminding Bridget of her father that year he had been on a crusade about her cutting her hair off the year after her mom had died. "Oh no you cannot be here. Adding more fuel to the fire"

Bridget was about to ask him in polite a tone as she could manage just who the hell he thought he was but before she could say anything Platt came back and sighed the kind of sigh that only the long suffering gave when they realised their life was about to become even more complicated.

Bridget could understand the feeling.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Right now we have a situation upstairs. And it's easier if you don't be there"

"If you mean the situation which involves the man who kidnapped your child on a day pass so you can crack down on some kind of threat on an international figure then I already know it" Bridget deadpanned turning back to her phone. "Yeah" she said not looking up. "This is prescient not a garrison and people talk both inside and outside now" she said looking up finally to see the two stunned expressions. "Can I go see my father?"

"He's upstairs" Trudy said finally. "I'll buzz you in" she said and Bridget nodded her thanks and then disappeared upstairs before either one of them could say anything else.

Upstairs was not much better. The place was a mess of cops running around and Bridget couldn't see her father anywhere so she patiently decided to sit in his office and wait until he came back. He was going to come back she knew that much but she didn't want to draw attention to herself until he did. Her Dad had been…rather strange since the bombing. Of course Bridget knew that investigations like that one shook even the most hardened of detectives but there was still a coldness in her house that she had not yet addressed and she found that she was rather afraid too.

What had happened upon the roof between the members of Intelligence and a bomber was staying behind closed doors but the fact of the matter was that she suspected enough, knowing what she knew and she also knew that there was no way in hell that she was going back to how it was before Justin went to prison, before her Dad went inside. Where they all pretended that everything was alright and that she had lied and said she had no idea where this mythical safe was when the cops led by Antonio Dawson had showed up with a search warrant.

She had still not forgiven him for any of that. He had come into her home when she had been nothing more than a teenager, two years younger than what his own daughter was and he had frightened her and froze her insides and took away her father and her brother. She had not forgiven any of them even if her father had. Oh she knew Justin was guilty her Dad too but she found she emphasised a hell of a lot more with families of perpetrators guilty or not than she had done before.

There was a pause as she sat and pulled her book out. Why she was even here she did not know but the house was just so empty nowadays that in all honestly being here was better than being alone. There was a pause where she sat there reading for a time and tried to forget that there was a man down in interrogation who had killed a cop, tried to kill more and had taken Antonio's terrified ten year old to prove a point.

She might not like the man but Bridget was not cruel.

Plus at some point she might have to tell her father now everything was semi-normal that she was going on birth control and that she might need his credit card to pay for it.

Yeah, somehow she was not looking forwards to that conversation. But she had delayed the inevitable for too long and therefore this was all she had to do before she could finally try and move on with her life.

If she survived the conversation that was.

* * *

At some point she imagined that she must have fallen asleep because she was aware of someone creeping in the office with her. She didn't open her eyes all the way instead using a trick Erin had taught her she opened them a little so it gave the indication of sleeping but not really.

Someone was really creeping around the edge of the desk and it was most certainly not her Dad. Nor was it Erin. It was man with dark hair that much she could make out but he was too young to be Al, and far to skinny to be either Jay or Antonio. It took her a second for her to realise who it was. It was Sheldon the computer expert that she had only met once in passing. He was placing something under her Dad's desk and Bridget realised that it was something that hadn't been there before.

He moved as silently out of the office as he had come in it and she waited until she heard him go down the stairs before she moved off the couch. It only took a second to feel around the desk and pull out the small device that was under there. For a second she stared at it.

It was a recording device.

Oh fuck.

Just as Bridget was staring at it the door opened and Erin and her Dad came in talking. Both stopped when they saw her and she tried to mask her face so it didn't show a guilty expression. There was a pause as she stood there and looked at them and they looked back. Slipping the mic into her jeans pocket she took a deep breath and flipped some of her hair back so it didn't look totally obvious that she had just been on her knees checking for something. Not that she suspected her Dad didn't know about it.

Better to be safe than sorry in Bridget's experience.

"Hey" she said finally before either one of them could speak. "I know your busy and everything but when you got a sec I could do with a word"

Actually she could do with several but her hospital insurance that she was on meant that her Dad was going to find out she had birth control implanted in her and she would rather bite that bullet now when she was in the mood for it rather than when the bill came in many months down the line.

For a second her Dad did not say anything. Neither did Erin who was looking—more tired than anything now Bridget came to think of it. The last time Erin had looked that tired her father had just been about to be shipped off to prison and she had been left with a somewhat incoherent Bridget.

Err yeah" he said coming back to life. "Can you just give us a sec Bridge" and he kinda jerked his head outside. Bridget got the gist and nodded picking up her bag and smiling at Erin as she went to sit at the other woman's now empty desk and tried to pretend that the mic that was supposedly recording all her father's confessions wasn't burning a hole in her jeans pocket.

On the plus side she thought when she told her Dad that someone in his office was selling him out and he was in the process of being recorded there was still the chance that he would implode so wonderfully that he might not remember her telling him that she was going to put herself on birth control and that his health insurance of which she was a member of was going to sky rocket.

That was a point to consider.

* * *

Bridget had moved back into his office as Hank came back upstairs, Erin following. She had finally told him that Charlie was back in town and she was struggling to see a way out of her predicament with him. She had not told him that but he knew Erin too well and more to the point he knew Erin when she was around anybody from her past. Whatever it was that she was involved in was going to lead her straight back to where she had been the first time he had pulled her out of the gutter and detoxed her on her bathroom floor and the second and the third. Hank didn't know if he truly had it in him for a fourth not when he still hadn't spoken to Justin since he had dropped him off in front of the Army recruitment door and he had not spoken to, Bridget was either having sex or certainly thinking about having sex and had been involved in a bomb blast and Erin…well…throughout all of it Erin had been his one constant.

She had remained the most constant of all of them and if she was going then he may as well go to his desk and put his head down on it and not look up until Al took pity on him and shot him. Or poured him an endless drink whichever came first.

Bridget was sat on the couch again her hands clasped in some sort of strange prayer position as if she was thinking hard about something. There was something in that expression that Hank really didn't like.

Oh god…a terrible thought ran through him that made him want to throw up suddenly and rather violently. What if she had lied to him and she had gone the whole way with this Shakespeare reading boy and she was now pregnant?

Oh fuck. He was going back inside then that was for sure. There was no way that he could see a way around Bridget being pregnant at sixteen without committing murder. Justin in his heyday had been bad enough and Erin coming in at all hours had almost committed him and Camille.

But then a voice of clarity-that sounded suspiciously like his wife told him to shut up in his head and listen to what his daughter had to tell him.

"You wanna talk to me about something?" he said leaning against his desk, crossing his arms and hoping she didn't notice the fact that he was gripping the fabric on the opposite side of his sleeves.

"Err…yeah…look I don't want you to panic or anything or get upset which is what you usually do but I thought I'd better tell you this before the records of the heath insurance come in but—" she shot him a strange look breaking off suddenly.

"Dad are you alright?"

Alright? Well—he wasn't sure if he could feel his legs at this point but he supposed he was still breathing—technically.

Whatever he was going to say was cut off abruptly by the sounds of four gunshots clear in the station. He stood up as Bridget did her arms crossed looking around surprise on her face. He crossed the room and grabbed her by the arm in case he had to shove her down but for a second there were no more shots.

Then it clicked. Where the shots had come from.

"Stay here" he shouted and without looking back he and the rest of his squad ran down the stairs guns drawn to see what could only be described as a blood bath.

Antonio was down, Antonio was bleeding in the same building where hundreds of cops were, three Feds were dead as well and his daughter had been upstairs when it had all happened. He felt deep in his bones the old ache he used to feel whenever he came close to the edge and he knew that this ache…this edge and all the anger and pain and fear and grief that came with it (and the prospect of losing two of his team to the same perp and doing nothing to stop it) came with the knowledge that he gained before he precipitated murder.

* * *

 **Part two of the second arc of the finale of Season 1-Hank is on the warpath, Jay confesses to Bridget (accidentally) Bridget demands a concession forcing her father between a rock and a hard place and a murder occurs.**

 **Please let me know what you think and I will update as soon as I can. **


	8. A Life Spent

**Hi, so here is another chapter, this one is being uploaded differently so apologies for any issues.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And Enjoy.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 8-A Life Spent

Part Two of the second arc of the finale and Season 1-Hank is on the warpath, Jay confesses to Bridget (accidentally) Bridget demands a concession forcing her father between a rock and a hard place and a murder occurs.

* * *

Bridget had been sat on the edge of the desk watching. There were three Feds dead downstairs and Antonio was in the hospital having surgery and a major criminal had escaped with his wife and child so yeah she was pretty sure that she wasn't going to go anywhere and everyone was so hyped up that they didn't even notice her sitting there on the edge of the desk trying not to dig her fingernails into her palms and pretend that she was invisible. Something was telling her deep down inside of her that whatever was coming was something she was not going to like very much. In fact it might be something that she hated.

And as she sat there she was still aware of the voice recorder in her back pocket. She shot the man who had put it there a look from underneath her eyelashes and watched as he listened to her Dad talk without so much as a flicker. If it hadn't been her Dad that he had been selling out to…well…whoever then she might have been impressed with his deception and how well it was working. Might have been the operative word.

There was a long pause where she sat there and then the words that she knew was coming (because she always knew didn't she) came out of her Dad's mouth.

"When we find Pulpo I want him brought to me and Al"

And yeah she didn't need to be a cop to know what that was code for. There was a pause where she stood there and tried not to think about what that meant. She did know what that meant after all and it made her furious. She stood there and listened even as Jay stood there and tried to make her Dad explain what the hell he was asking them to do.

She was wiling to bet that he hadn't even noticed that she was there. The whole thing was a joke. Her whole life was a joke right about now. But one thing was for sure, Bridget was not going to let this go quietly. Bridget had lived through events like this too many times with Justin, her Dad and she was not going to live through this again. She was done. Bridget was done with the murder and the hints and the money in her Dad's safe that they both pretended didn't exist. She remembered it with Justin—the last time she had gone on an 'adventure' and how it ended. Yeah she was not going through that again.

Just as soon as she had decided this however it was like a lightening bolt had gone off in her head. A lot of things in that moment made sense and she realised she was still standing there half standing and half sitting on Jay's desk trying to think when a small cough from the man told her that she would have to move. She did so still thinking and she didn't even see the eyes on her as she moved back out the police station and down the street. She ignored her Dad and he, having so much work to do and so much to clean up that didn't just involve the blood on the stairs allowed her to do so. Bridget didn't even see him so lost was she in her own thoughts. She barely felt the recorder in her back jeans pocket as she walked outside the cold air hitting her like a shock to the system.

She had the chance to make herself heard here if she played this right. She had a chance to ensure that she would never again have to sit in a courtroom and grit her teeth and look away from everyone's faces of avid sympathy. She knew what she had to do. It had been easy. She had known it deep down since she had come home the first time after her father and her brother were realised from prison.

It was time for Bridget Voight to give her own ultimatum.

And god help anyone who got in her way this time around.

And yeah, she was still thinking in those terms of Antonio Dawson.

Even if he had just been shot.

* * *

Hank and Al had been sat at the docks waiting for the right time playing cards and trying to pretend that they were not about to kill someone even if that someone had killed three Feds, a cop and certainly tried to kill another cop all in his backyard. Not to mention there was that debacle with Diego Dawson. Hank didn't like this road that they were going down but he had to do it. Al liked it even less but this was a part of the job that he had long ago sold his soul too. If prison couldn't deal with the worst criminals then he would have to.

Better that then have them on his streets.

Camille would have told him he was being stupid but then again she wasn't here. Bridget was the closest thing he had to his wife and she had not even so much as looked at him as she had walked away from him this morning and then there was still the nagging thing that she had come to tell him. It must have had something to do with her health because she had mentioned the insurance, but what he honestly couldn't say.

Hank truly believed that there was no way that his daughter could be pregnant and he not know it. He also believed her when she said that nothing had happened between that boy and her other than a few kisses and touching (ugh) and he liked to think that he watched his daughter (a bit better than other fathers without being totally creepy about it) and he also liked to think he would know if there was another boy in the picture.

He took a deep breath and then decided to speak up. Al had a daughter after all and Lexi talked a lot. Also if his daughter had a secret that Lexi that would effect her health or put her in danger that he had to know about he wanted to believe that she would tell him.

"Lexi said anything to you about Bridge?" he asked his oldest friend finally.

Al stared at him for a second and then returned to shuffling cards.

"No" he said finally. "This have something to do with what she was waiting around for you this morning?"

Hank sighed. "She comes in this morning and tells me that she needs to talk to me, that the only reason that she is doing it is because she knows that it's going to show up on my health insurance and she would rather that I hear about it from her rather than see it…I mean…I believed her when she told me that she had not done anything with this guy at the party but…now…I mean…it's not like she'd tell me if she was pregnant or if she needed to take something or if god forbid he forced her…"

He had to stop there because some of the more darker thoughts in his head were beginning to roar upwards and take shape.

"Or it might not even be about sex" he continued. "I mean…what if she found something, like Camille did. A lump or blood or something and she wants a scan and doesn't want to tell me…I mean…Al Cami was halfway diagnosed when she told me and she only did that because she was too afraid to go into the room alone and hear the news…I mean it could all be genetic couldn't it and Bridget's found out something…" He knew he was rambling but he couldn't stop himself it was like once he gave thoughts to the darkest fears he had ever had they grew on their own like a little monster that fed of what kept him up at night. Losing his wife to cancer had been a walk through hell such as he had never endured before.

Losing Bridget to the same thing…

Oh god that made him want to be sick just thinking about it.

Al watched him for a second and then turned to look at him with that sad look in his eyes because his friend had loved his wife, the four of them, him, Camille and Al and Meredith, there had been Justin and Erin and then Lexi and Bridget and they all been friends. Now his wife was dead, his son was gone and Al and Meredith's marriage was falling apart.

"She's not stupid Hank, Bridge knows not to fuck around with her health, she knows where the line in the sand is, has known it more than Justin did at any rate—but if it was something that serious she would have told someone, and if it was anything that serious or a pregnancy or anything like that then I promise you that Lexi would have told someone"

Hank who remembered that scared but defiant look in his wife's eyes that had been there until the very end where she had admitted defeat and then died six hours later—and the same look that had more than once been reflected in his daughter's eyes wasn't what you would call convinced.

But he supposed right now he did have more pressing matters to deal with.

Like what to do with this piece of cop killing shit that was stirring next to him.

When he got home he was too tired to care that they had let Pulpo go, that Jay Halstead finally had his proof on how he took care of things, that there was still the question of the mole in his office and that Erin was still waist deep in the shit that she was supposed to have left behind when she came to live with him all those years ago.

All he wanted was a beer and the oblivion that was his bed.

* * *

It was late when he got home and he half expected Bridget to be asleep but she was instead sitting on the couch in her pyjama's waiting for him. She looked resolute but very pale and her eyes were almost glittering in the night light shining in through his window. Hank steeled himself for what he imagined would be another blow on top of everything else he had been through today.

He wanted to tell her they would discuss it in the morning and whatever it was that she wanted to tell him could wait because he wanted one last night of oblivion before he had to deal with the next crisis but that would have meant that he was a different person than he was. He had never ran away from the danger—hell nine times out of ten he ran towards it and he was not going to break the habit of a lifetime now.

However his daughter beat him to the punch.

"Did you kill Pulpo?" she asked finally.

Hank nearly choked on his beer and took a deep breathe, how the hell she had known that was what he was going to do? But she had always been like her mother and nothing would stop his wife when she knew that he was going to do something stupid from confronting him weather it be before or after the fact.

"Don't" Bridget said finally. "I know you, this is the second time that you have had to deal with this man and the second time that he almost cost you a cop. So how about we talk like adults. Like you said we could after you shipped Justin away"

Well ok then, she wanted truth then she could have the cold hard truth.

"I didn't kill him" he said finally. "I was going to and then I was going to chuck his body in the docks but Jay got to me first. Told me Antonio said no and considering that man lost his partner, his son and nearly his life I thought I might let him have the final say in it"

Bridget gave a long sigh and then nodded.

"Dad, I am only going to say this once so please keep it in mind. If you ever do something like that again, If you ever do anything that might land you back in jail and I don't care who he kills or what he does or whatever if you do that, kill someone because they wronged you or cross a line that has me lying for you or if you do anything, anything at all that has the chance of you going back to prison and leaving me alone then I promise you…you are done with me. And I mean it, I will walk out of this house and I will not walk back in because I am not having my life turned upside down again because you don't want to run through your own system"

There were so many things that he could say to that but he wasn't sure how to phrase it. Bridget was too much her mother's daughter to listen to him when she was all fired up like this and Hank was torn, he had no idea if he wanted to call her bluff or not and he had no idea what would happen if he did. All he knew was that for the first time in his life he had no idea how to play this situation and it was that, that drove him forwards.

"Ok" he said simply. Bridget stared at him for a second and then nodded sitting back down on the couch and crossing one leg over the other as if nothing had happened. There was a pause where she sat there and Hank moved to sit next to her.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked finally.

"Yes" Bridget said simply and then before Hank could open up his mouth and asked her weather or not he needed to call a doctor (or vomit whichever came first) she reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out what looked like a recording device.

"You got a problem" was all she said and the story that she then began to tell him was enough to drive other worries out of his mind for the time being.

It was six AM when he got the call that his computer expert had been murdered, he had barely slept and when he woke up to answer the phone call it was still with Sheldon's recording device clenched in his hand.

* * *

 **So this is the end of the Season 1 arc and the next chapter will be the start of Season 2.**

 **Next Chapter-Hank goes back to work under the shadow of a murder. Jay has to choose a side. Erin is not a happy bunny and Hank finds he cannot rest until he learns exactly what it was that Bridget wanted to speak to him about her health.**


	9. Risk Management

**Hi, so here is another chapter, the next chapter might skip a few episodes due to the lack of plot i can get Bridget into. However in the meantime i hope you all enjoy this chapter as the first of the arc of Season 2.**

 **Disclaimer-None of this is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And please let me know what you thought and i will endeavour to update as soon as i am able too.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 9-Risk Management

Hank goes back to work under the shadow of a murder. Jay has to choose a side. Erin is not a happy bunny and Hank finds he cannot rest until he learns exactly what it was that had Bridget so worried about her health.

* * *

Bridget had her contraceptive implant in on the day Antonio Dawson left the hospital and went back to active duty. She knew that because as she was coming out the hospital her arm bandaged and aching because that had been a rather big needle that had been stuck in her arm even if she had not watched, she ran into him.

"Oh fuck" she said wishing she was wearing any top other than her old grey one that might have been an old clubbing one of Erin's that was sleeveless so that her bandage and fabulously forming bruise was showing.

"Hey" Antonio said giving her a strange look. "You ok?"

"Yeah it's all taken care of now"

Of for God's sake she was babbling like a child. She resisted the urge to stop her foot and reminded herself sternly to pull herself together.

"Ok" Antonio said shooting her a look that said quite plainly he thought she was mad.

"You want a ride to the station?"

"Eh no, I'm gonna go home and work on an essay. Congrats on getting back to work though"

And then she was gone her face screwed up at the thought of her own stupidity at the way she handled that and the fact that there was no way that this conversation in all its glorious awkwardness was not going to make it back to her father.

Brilliant.

* * *

Antonio was stiffer on his legs than he used to be and he supposed that was the reason why he was still confined to desk duty but he had to admit that desk duty was better than whatever was happening to Voight. At best he was facing suspension pending another full investigation (and most cops didn't survive one never mind two) and at worst he was heading back to prison and their unit which had felt like family would be broken up.

He was just filling out some paperwork to return to their new girl Nadia who had been talking to Erin who was always jumpy these days and Jay who looked like he was wrestling with some sort of agonizing moral dilemma that as a catholic school boy Antonio knew from sight.

Yeah he was staying away from that one. He had enough problems to deal with.

After yelling at Adam about the whole thing where he was now a suspect in the murder of his colleague and then storming off to his office Antonio was very glad that he was not in the line of fire today. He had to admit that he was tired of being the fall to guy for Voight. Did he think Voight killed Sheldon honestly? No? But he was pretty sure that something was going on with his daughter too. And that left another couple of questions and he tapped his pen against the desk and tried to think about what to do, he was loathe to violate Bridget Voight's privacy and her life anymore than he suspected he had done when he had stepped up and sent her father and brother to prison but yet if it had been Eva coming out of that hospital with a bandage covering a bruise on her arm and looking as shifty as fuck would he want to know about it?

The short answer was yes.

So he dragged himself to his feet and forced himself to go to Voight's office feeling like he would rather go to the gallows instead.

He knocked once feeling a sense of trepidation that he had only ever felt once and that was the first time he had put his life in this man's hand post prison.

He shut the door behind him.

"Look" he began in a rush. "I don't know what the thing between you and your daughter is and I don't wanna know but I do know if it was Eva I'd wanna know if something was bothering her. I saw her come out of the hospital today, looked like she'd had some kind of procedure done but her arm was all bruised and bandaged on one side and she was acting kinda strange. She said she was going home when I offered her a ride but…well…I'd wanna know if It was me so I figured perhaps you would want to know too" He finished the rushed overlong sentence almost lamely but really? What was he supposed to say.

Voight as always was unreadable.

* * *

Jay was pacing, up and down the locker room. Erin was no help, he had expected that much and even knowing what was on that memory stick he had no idea what he should do next. Did he go to Voight and tell him, throw his trust with a man who at best dirty on occasion and at worse someone Jay should be putting in handcuffs or did he leave this where it was or turn it to someone else.

There was really nobody to talk to about this. Erin and Al were heart and soul for Voight, Adam and Kevin had not been long out of the academy and were not going to hang up their badges on anything less than iron clad proof and Antonio…well who knew with Antonio nowadays.

So he was pacing, back straight at the march and pace and posture he would have done in the Army and not for the first time since moving back to Chicago he wished his brother was here. Will had a habit of working though all the kinks and just telling him what to do. Jay had no idea. Well…that wasn't strictly true either. He had some idea of what to do, he knew what he should do. Weather or not he was going to do…well…that was why he was pacing.

It all came down to trust he thought. Did he trust Voight? Did he trust the fact that he wasn't IAB and spying on them all? Did he still trust his own instincts?

Well the answer to the last one was a resounding yes and so he fingered the little penstick in his hand for a second taking it in, this had the power to put away a man for life, this had the chance to exonerate a friend and put his ghosts to rest and this had the power to put a killer behind bars where he so richly deserved to be.

He sighed. It was time to trust Voight. If anything else he trusted Erin with his life and she trusted Voight with hers and that had to be enough for him because if there ever came a point where he didn't trust Erin's judgement…his partner's judgement then he may as well turn in his badge right now.

Jay stood up and, evidence in hand hoped like hell he was entrusting the last thing a good friend had asked of him to a man who would put the person who took his life behind bars and not cut him a deal or owe him for the rest of his life. If not…then he knew where he would stand for the rest of his short time in Intelligence.

And with that he opened Voight's office door.

* * *

There was a pause where he stood outside his house. Erin was pissed without a shadow of a doubt and she was only going to get a lot worse before she got a lot better and there was no way of stopping her. Experience had taught him to let her get her anger out of the way before she tried to see if from his perspective. Jay at least had given him an out and he would tell Bridget tonight but first he had to know…he _had_ to know what it was that was going on inside his daughter's head. What it was with her health that she was doing.

Antonio had not helped one bit. And thank god Perry didn't track his internet search history anymore because if he did then he would know that Hank had spent the last three hours looking up medical treatments that included bruising of the left arm. All in all he didn't have much and certainly nothing until he had the information he needed so he could finally get a good nights rest.

Bridget was in the kitchen stirring something in a pot. The scene was so similar to the time where he had come in and she had been wearing the watch and had smiled at him that he almost had to double check what was going on. There was a pause where she turned and he noticed the gleam of silver on her wrist which was the watch.

"It's just soup. I wasn't sure if you wanted more or if you were coming home but there is more than enough for two…"

"Thanks" he said taking in what she was wearing. It was a pair of leggings and a pale pink jumper with long sleeves and he couldn't see her arm or if there was a bandage under it.

Yeah he was not prepared for this in the slightest.

"Bridge I gotta ask you what you were doing in the hospital this morning. And before you ask Antonio told me because he wanted someone to tell him if it was his daughter and…and…look are you sick? Is it…is it what your Mom had? Because if it is then I promise you we will get through this or…I mean…is it a boy? Is someone hurting you?"

There was a pause as Bridget took in his expression and then she put down her spoon and turned the soup of the hob. Hank felt his breathe catch into his throat and she paused where he stood there and wondered weather or not he was about to enter his own agony for the second time in his life. Please, oh please not this again.

"Dad I am not sick." Bridget said finally. "And if you must know I wasn't at the hospital because I was having a scan or anything and I wasn't worried about health insurance because someone is hurting me. I was…look the other night when I was with Oliver at the party I came to a decision and we…look you know we didn't do anything Dad but the point is I wanted to and I had no means so…no I am not sick, what I was doing today at the hospital was having a contraceptive implant put in."

Hank blinked. He had no idea weather or not that was a good thing or not. On the plus side it was clear that she was not sick and she was in good health which was one worry of his mind. He was also not going to deny that it was easier to sleep now he knew he was not going to lose his daughter the same way he had lost his wife or in any other way. Nobody was hurting her and she was not sick. That had to mean something.

But on the downside there was the fact that she was now seriously considering having sex and there was noting that he could do to stop it. It was placing an incredible amount of trust in his daughter that she would know what to do but she was stood there and she was alive and she clearly in control of herself and that had to be something.

"Ah" he said finally.

"Great" Bridget said turning back to her soup.

"No I mean…great…that you are taking control of the situation and making steps about your health, and I appreciate that you told me. You could have told me sooner but I suppose…are you alright?"

"Gonna bruise for a couple of weeks and there's gonna be an incision scar but I'm gonna be protected from pregnancy which is something so…look I probably should have told you but…your not Mom, Dad. And I wanted to do this on my own"

And didn't he know that he was not his wife.

"I know" he said finally. "I know I'm not your Mom Bridge and I understand, but the next time you decide to do something on your own then please let me know even if you don't want me there because I really don't think that I can live through all these little clue things that have been going on. I don't think that I ever want to wait up wondering if you have cancer or not. Please Bridge don't do that to…ever…you got a problem or your worried you come to me you understand?"

Bridget gave him a long look and then jerked her head in something Hank took to heart as a nod. He nodded back and then he sat down deciding that he could worry about his daughter being on birth control later. Right now he was hungry and in need of company that wouldn't involve a fight.

"Seeing as were being so honest with each other you wanna tell me why I got a furious phone call from Erin about how you were selling out cops?"

Or not it seemed.

"That's a long story" he deadpanned hoping she'd drop it but Bridget was her mother's daughter and he was not that lucky.

"I got time"

And so heart considerably lighter, he launched into the tale.

* * *

 **And there it is, i hope you all enjoyed and stay tuned for the next chapter.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget and Hank find out Justin got a girl pregnant, Hank and the mother of his grandchild are held hostage and Bridget gets her first hand to hand combat against some criminals.**


	10. My Aim Is True

**Hi, so here is another chapter, I hope you all enjoy this one and let me know what you think, I will try and update sooner rather than later.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 10-My Aim Is True

Bridget and Hank find out Justin got a girl pregnant. Hank and the mother of his grandchild are held hostage and Bridget gets her first hand to hand combat against some criminals.

* * *

Bridget had been at home working her way through a brutal algebra problem when the door opened and her Dad came into the house looking like he would rather go ten rounds with some ugly drug dealer rather than deal with whatever it was that made him go straight to the cabinet where they held the booze. Bridget watched him and then deciding that whatever it was, she wanted to hear about it head on she stood up and reached for the glasses pouring him a whiskey and such was the mood he was in he didn't notice (and didn't that worry her) that she poured herself a generous helping of gin and tonic and then sat down.

"So what happened?" she asked. Her Dad stared at her for second and then put down the bottle.

"Do you remember a girlfriend of your brother's Olive?"

Bridget couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Dad he had so many girlfriends at the end it was hard for him to keep track never mind me"

"Well this one says she's pregnant"

Bridget choked on her drink. Her Dad had much the same expression etched upon his face.

"Oh holy shit" she said sitting down and rolling her eyes. "Only Justin could pull that shit off even when he is miles away. Are you sure it's his? Is she sure it's his?"

"She says so"

Bridget snorted again. "Dad she could be saying anything and lets face it your not that good"

"Thanks, but no. I got a pretty good feeling she's on the mark with this one. I put in message to Justin's recruiter to get him to call but weather or not he does…well…he's not exactly been speaking to me"

It was a mark Bridget thought of how good things had been between the two of them that she didn't immediately roll her eyes at the end of that sentence, make a sarcastic remark nor comment that perhaps if he had not sent Justin away things would be different but she didn't instead turning back to her drink. She should have grabbed the vodka. Only Justin could pull this shit.

"She's coming round tomorrow after school to meet both of us"

Bridget raised an eyebrow and didn't say anything but she knew deep down there was the no chance she was going to be there when her Dad brought home the woman who claimed she was pregnant with her brother's child. Until she had confirmation from Justin that this was true she was going to take this information liberally and with more than a grain of salt.

Her Dad sighed standing up and then taking the gin out of her had and drinking half of it without flinching.

"Seriously?" She asked.

"Yeah it's a school night and I've had a long day"

And then he was gone and Bridget was furious for reasons that she knew but didn't want to name.

* * *

In hindsight looking back it was probably a very good thing that she had stuck to her guns and stayed behind for an extra hour working on her math homework which was by far her worst subject and she came home in a foul mood to see her front door kicked in.

For a second she stared and there looking at it noting the unfamiliar car that was there and the fact that her door lock was at an odd angle showing that someone uninvited had come in. She moved her bag so it was over her shoulder and then slid into the door so quietly she doubted anyone could hear her. There was always a spare gun in the draw next to the door and her Dad had made sure she and Justin had both known how to fire one. She had seen Erin do this enough times so feeling rather ridiculous more so that she did scared she forced herself to check each room.

The voices were coming from the basement. She couldn't hear her Dad but she could hear three men that she didn't know and she thought that her bravery might be better suited if she did the sensible thing and call Erin rather than the stupid thing and start shooting knowing full well she might not be able to hit anything except the wall. After all she had earned enough certificates in hand to hand combat to be good in a fist fight but she highly doubted whoever was down there probably robbing the safe that she pretended she didn't know about had incapacitated her father and that meant there wasn't much hope for her.

Just as she was edging back to the door she heard the door to the basement open. A man stood there dressed in black covered in tattoos and staring at her as if she was a ghost. Bridget ran like hell down the hallway and out the house.

Of course he was faster.

He caught her around the waist and lifted her up but before he could open his mouth to get help basic training of what she was supposed to do in this situation overcame her and her elbow came back into his mouth as her foot kicked him so hard in the stomach they both dropped to the floor of her hallway with a crash that knocked a table and three pictures over. There was movement from downstairs and Bridget knew that any second she would be joined by more people.

Disentangling herself from the man groaning on the floor (she was pleased to see she had knocked out a few teeth in the process even if her own head was bleeding from the fall) she turned and kicked him in the ribs. Firing two shots at the wall and not checking to see if they'd hit she ran out the house and down the street ignoring the fact that she was shaking and her knee was hurting and she didn't stop running until she was near the prescient and she crashed through the doors to see Trudy Platt look up from her magazine her face going while when she saw her and then to her abject horror the world got very dizzy and she fainted into an unwitting Adam's arms who was right behind her.

All in all she didn't know what to make of what was going on and when the blackness came she fell into it thinking that she would really like it if she hadn't hit anyone when she had shot them deserving of a bullet or not.

* * *

When Bridget woke up she knew she was in a hospital bed. There was someone there talking outside with the doctor. For a second, for an endless second she caught sight of the tall man and thought it was her brother. But then the door opened and her eyesight adjusted and she saw that it was her father. This was by no means a small feet. This morning Bridget had, had no idea what was going on with her father but she had banked herself on never seeing him again and now he was here a little bloodied and bruised but he was here and she was not going to knock that.

"What happened?" she said as she came in. She took in the look on his face and frowned. She had seen that look too many times and the last one had been when she had been convinced Justin had been going down for accessory to murder.

She bit her lip and tasted blood.

"You came across what you might say was a robbery in progress. I got the team looking for the people responsible but you running all that way got me and Olive the help that we needed. Doctors said you fainted, that your knee is badly bruised and that there was a bit of a concussion but you showing up sent the guys to my house and they found us."

"Who the hell would be after you…no let me rephrase that one. Who the hell would be mad enough for you to go after you?"

Her Dad cracked a smile that didn't meet his eyes.

"I've made a lot of enemies over the past kiddo. Considered it a badge of honour that I managed to get this far and not lose you to it. So I'm gonna keep somethings to myself. I know you want to know but…but that's just the way I need things to be, you understand?"

Bridget didn't and was about to tell him that but then she remembered with sudden clarity what it had been like standing and sitting across from Peter Stone as he interviewed her and threatened her and made her feel small and disgusting as she tried to stick up for her Dad. At least the woman had pitied her. Stone had looked at her like she was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe and on more than one occasion she had felt the same about herself. She had only gotten through that by knowing that she knew nothing and she was more than happy to keep it that way.

"Ok" she said finally. Her Dad's face showed his surprise but Bridget instead hugged him. She couldn't help it, all throughout that mad dash she had prayed that he was still alive, that if she could hold off the pain long enough she would know.

"I used your gun the one in the draw, I don't think I hit…did I hit? Was my aim that good?"

"Nah you got the wall" he said finally. "Gonna need a good plasterer to fix that up. That make you feel better or worse?"

"I don't feel anything" Bridget said finally. That was a lie. She felt relief and then the overwhelming guilt that came with it. These men had been trying to kill her father and for all she knew the mother of her unborn niece and nephew and she was relieved that she had not killed them?

Her Dad snorted but he returned the hug.

"You did good Bridge" he said finally. "You did real good today"

Yeah Bridget wished that was true.

* * *

That night they spent the night with Meredith and Al. Lexie helped her into the bed that they shared and talked until Bridget fell asleep her head still pounding and she woke up still feeling like she would rather sleep for a week. There was a pause where she sat there feeling Lexie breathe in and breathe out and she forced herself to try not to think about what it was going to be to go home and see the plaster marks on the wall where she shot at the plaster and where she knocked out someone's teeth.

Fuck.

And Justin had knocked up a girl. Bridget was going to be an Aunt. And everyone was alive, everyone she loved in this moment, in this morning was safe. So why did she feel like she was going to a funeral? Was this some sort of strange premonition? Either way she told herself sternly that she had nothing to feel guilty about.

So she did the easiest thing to do in that moment.

Bridget closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Lexie didn't even stir next to her.

* * *

There was a pause where Hank dry heaved a little bit more over Meredith's porcelain sink. Already he was in a bad way. His ribs were aching and not even the knowledge that the people behind this were dealt with was going to give him much sleep.

He had come out of his bonds to find upstairs a mess, two gunshots had gone off and there was a guy unconscious and his daughter who had come home and unwillingly struggled with two criminals who had wanted to kill her.

Fuck. Bridge could have died. His daughter could have died today or she could have killed someone. Thank god her aim was shit and that she had not learnt what it was to take someone's life. To have it in your hands and take it away. That was something Hank didn't have to put up with.

He peered around the door to see her curled up on one side of the bed her elbow tucked under her chin looking like a child and she paused where he stood there taking in the innocence that was still Bridget and then slowly he forced himself to stand there and remind himself that he had not lost his daughter and her innocence and that his unborn grandchild was going to live.

And that had to be enough.

And so he went back downstairs where his first partner, his best friend and his shrink nine times out of ten would be waiting on his estranged wife's couch with the scotch that he so desperately needed.

* * *

 **Again the next chapter will skip a couple of episodes so please keep that in mind.**

 **Next Chapter-As a fire and it's personal contents become personal for Erin detectives from New York come down and Bridget Voight meets Olivia Benson. **


	11. Strong Enough To Bend

**Hi, so here is another chapter, I know it is short but please keep in mind that when I was writing this I was ill myself so this was how the chapter turned out.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 11-Strong Enough To Bend

As a fire and it's contents become personal for Erin, and a cop gets shot, detectives from New York come to town and Bridget Voight meets Olivia Benson.

* * *

Bridget had always known that Erin had, had a somewhat complicated past. Coming downstairs one day for breakfast to find a fifteen year old girl shooting up coke on your kitchen table while your mother and father were downstairs in the basement arguing did that to you. She had, had the distinct not-pleasure of meeting Bunny Fletcher too many times to count but she had not known that Erin had, had a brother simply because Erin had never mentioned brothers and sisters in any way that did not connect to Bridget or Justin.

She didn't worry too much when her Dad told her he was heading up to New York for a couple of days to work a case with the Manhattan SVU, she enjoyed having the house to herself. She could order pizza and watch some actual TV and she didn't ask for the details about the case only that she get some sort of gift (it was New York after all, she didn't think that was too much to ask) and that he not get himself shot.

Of course the shooting that she had expected (because she was a cops daughter through and through and she had expected shootings since she had been a little girl) had not happened in New York but in Chicago and it had involved someone she had not known.

That night as she waited for her Dad to come home Bridget wrapped herself up warm in a blanket and yet somehow couldn't rid herself of the coldness all night.

Her Dad came home sometime in the morning. It was a weekend and Bridget slept in, exhausted and cold and feeling sick and drained in a way she hadn't done since her mother's funeral and the days that followed where she had to rebuild her life. It was incomprehensible to her, why she was feeling this way. She knew it had nothing to do with the home invasion she had previously survived but there was something about the fact that another cop had been killed, that there had been another case involving children and another blow to their little family that made her want to curl back underneath the covers and never come out from them again.

However she had to, her Dad was a stickler for cops supporting cops and the families of cops supporting cops and she knew they would be doing that thing where they collected money. Bridget who had no cash dressed feeling like she was going to vomit and then walked to the prescient despite the fact that she was shivering and tired and feeling like she had aged ten years in the last ten minutes and climbed the stairs to Intelligence. She turned to look at Trudy who pointed to the jar. Bridget raised an eyebrow and the other woman let her through her expression though making it quite clear that she was at some point expected to pay up.

She knew that the detectives from New York would be coming down (somehow they always did during these joint investigations) and Bridget saw the blonde Detective Rollins with her blonde hair (and seriously she was so blonde she could be used as a nightlight) and another woman who she had not met before with dark hair, she was older and she spoke of years of experience on the job. She was staring at a board and Bridget walked right past her into her Dad's office—who was not there typical—and laid down on his couch wrapping her coat around her and using it as a makeshift blanket.

The door to the office opened and she looked up to see that same woman staring at her as if she couldn't believe what Bridget had done. She supposed however that if you didn't know her or the fact that she half lived here sometimes it was a little bit strange. When she opened the door however another blast of air came into the room and she struggled to keep her coat around her shivering shoulders.

"Can I help you with something?" the older woman asked. "Voight's not back yet."

"Figured" Bridget said lying back down again. "When he gets here just tell him I'm in his office and he'll know what to do. Also you might wanna tell him that Platt's out for blood and cash and I have none. Cash I mean…had to revamp my Shakespeare collection, old ones were falling apart"

Oh great she was rambling, this was just like Antonio Dawson and the birth control thing again.

Brilliant.

"I'm sorry…who are you?"

Honestly couldn't this woman let Bridget just see her Dad and then go back to sleep?

"Bridget" she said finally. "Bridget Camille Voight."

"Wait…your Hank's daughter?"

Hank? Hank? Since when did her father go around letting people call him Hank? Hell he barely did that with his own team. Erin was the only one who ever seemed to get away with it? Even Platt didn't do it that often and she had known him nearly all her career. Since when had this woman who had only come down for this one case managed to get on first name basis with a man who was so icy sometimes to strangers he made the big block of ice that hit the Titanic look warm and friendly?"

"Hank?" she said unable to keep the note of scorn out of her voice.

"Yes Hank, that's his name isn't it?"

"Yeah I'm Hanks daughter then" she said finally.

"Oh, I'm Olivia Benson, I work in the Special Victims Unit in New York I am here consulting on the case, the child porn case, the one with Erin's brother"

Erin's? Wait wasn't that Teddy? As far as Bridget knew Erin hadn't seen Teddy in something like ten years, another prime example of Bunny's parenting come back to kick them all in the ass.

Wonderful.

"Teddy's alive?"

"Yeah he's alive…are you feeling ok?"

"Not really" Bridget said "Feel like death actually. It's Chicago it's cold season"

Olivia Benson shot her a concerned look, she looked like she wanted to reach out and touch her and Bridget was very glad that she seemed to gain some control over herself and pull back because in the mood she was, her stomach coiling with worry and god only knows what else she found that she didn't want to be touched by anyone right now.

"Why are you here then?"

Bridget shot her another look.

"You did get the memo that a cop's been shot right? And Dad's not what you call the most communitive of men you know. Better for us both if I just come here and make sure he's alright and alive and you know…functioning"

Olivia Benson snorted and then smiled. She still looked like a woman who had seen many sorrows and lost and loved and had it all come to nothing but Bridget thought that when she smiled she also looked like a woman who had really lived as well and that made all the difference.

She laid her head back on her arm and snuggled back under her coat the cold in her very bones again—or so it seemed and without realising she fell asleep still under the concerned but yet thoughtful eyes of a woman who was not her mother but had all the same presence.

Oh God she was nowhere near well enough to analyse how she had come to that conclusion.

* * *

Olivia had been on her phone trying to text Amaro who seemed to have the damn thing switched off or was otherwise engaged. She was trying to figure out how the mystery man who had shot this cop with two kids had gotten into the hospital. Surely he must have known where the camera's were and that spoke of planning rather than just a random shooting—which led to the fact that he was probably working for the head of the snake rather than being a pissed off father.

Anyway she had been on her phone when Voight came up looking like he had been dragged into a boxing match bodily and only just came out alive. Olivia watched him carefully she liked Hank Voight. Disapproved of his methods sometimes but had to admit she liked how he was with victims, he reminded her a little bit of Elliot, filled with anger at how these kids were treated and not above using his fists when the job got too much, she remembered all the times she and the captain had, had to deal with Elliot's temper and she felt her heart heave with that feeling of missing him that had never really gone away. She had hide her smile as she imagined Voight and Elliot meeting, it would have made her feel somewhat sorry for the perp they were interrogating.

"Hey" she said as he walked towards his office. "Your daughter's in there, came in about an hour ago, heard about the dead officer and couldn't keep away I guess"

Voight stopped and turned around and she saw the hard expression on his face soften somewhat.

"She didn't give you any trouble did she?"

"No I think she's too sick for that, looks like she dragged herself out of bed to come here"

Voight turned to her and then his office in quick succession and Olivia was willing to bet her next month's salary that he'd had no idea his daughter was coming down with something, probably because she had not wanted to worry him. She tapped her foot and shook her head to herself. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about Noah and weather or not he would be liked that in a few years time.

She was beginning to think that Bridget Voight was something else entirely.

* * *

Benson wasn't kidding, Bridge did look like she has dragged herself out of bed to see him Hank thought irritably. Honestly the kid was so like Camille sometimes he had to stop himself from rolling his eyes so hard they would be stuck there.

"Bridge" he said gently shaking her awake.

Her eyes were dull and she was shivering under her coat, she looked like she had been battling a cold and Hank tampered down his annoyance because he also knew why she was here and he couldn't blame her. But still she should have told him she was sick.

"Hey" she said sitting up. "Did you catch the guy?"

"No" he snarled feeling annoyed just thinking of the cop-killer and the ringleaders of this ring that had kids scattered all over his city ready to be bought and sold at the drop of a hat.

"Why didn't you tell me you were feeling under the weather, in fact why are you even here if your feeling under the weather?"

"Because a cop was shot and kids were in a danger and I'm not that selfish" Bridget deadpanned. Hank took in the fact that despite the fact that she was clearly ill she had still not lost her sarcasm. So he could take it as nothing too serious.

"You'd have known if it was me" he pointed out.

Bridget shot him a long look that made her look so impossibly like his wife he had to look away.

"You know that's not the point Dad" she said finally.

Hank opened his mouth to disagree with her and then promptly closed it. That wasn't the point and he knew it. He had lost his father in the line too, he knew where her worry was coming from even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Come on, I can work this thing from home"

"No you…" Bridget started to protest but Hank shrugged. "I got half of New York here, Erin's dealing with the witnesses, Al can handle the rest of them and Platt's desperate for an interrogation so I think I'll be alright for a couple of hours"

Bridget watched him for a beat longer and then nodded relief flooding through her tiny body along with another shiver.

Yeah he could do this at home, or at the very least get his daughter somewhere where she was warm rather than his office which was freezing on a good day.

And if he pretended he didn't see Olivia Benson's eyes on him as they left well…that was between him and the ghost of his wife and all the other things he didn't want to say.

* * *

 **And there you go, enjoy and I will update as soon as I can.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget helps Nadia when a friend overdoses, Hank is not what you would call pleased Bridget meets the Ken and Barbie due to are Roman and his ex girlfriend Jen and on a house call Kim is shot. **


	12. In The Dark

**Hi, so here is another chapter. I am working through these really fast and hope you all enjoy, I have a nice little arc planned for Season 2 and some of Season 3 with this chapter so I hope you all enjoy.**

 **I will try and update but essay deadlines are approaching so who knows?**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Bridget**

 **And let me know what you think**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 12-In The Dark

Bridget helps Nadia when a friend overdoses, Hank is not what you would call pleased, Bridget meets the ken and barbie duo that is Roman and his ex girlfriend Jen and on a house call Kim is shot.

* * *

Bridget was supposed to be spending the day with Erin. Erin had offered to take her shopping for some new jeans because Lexie's mother had finally caught onto the fact that her daughter was failing Calculous and had demanded she stay home rather than go out and spend more money which Lexie didn't have.

Erin however had gotten a phone call and then said she would be late so Bridget let herself in and made herself some coffee and was all ready to sit down with her book when she felt the door open.

It wasn't Erin, it was Nadia. Nadia who lived here and worked with her Dad and the very same Nadia who was dragging a half unconscious girl into the house. For a second the two of them stared at each other and then Nadia started gesturing frantically for Bridget to help her.

What could Bridget do? She reached out and grabbed the other girls arm and together the two of them reached Erin's bathroom where Nadia ran a bath dumped the girl in and began tearing her clothes off.

"Here" she said passing Bridget a washcloth. "I need to go get the first aid kid, just try and keep her cool and shout me if anything changes."

"Lock the door" Bridget said though she knew it was feeble. The girl in the bathtub couldn't be much more older than her and she started dabbing her forehead as Nadia came back with what looked like drugs. Bridget was about to comment that that was probably what got them all in this mess in the first place but she didn't really know much about this stuff and it was clear that Nadia did so she thought perhaps it best she deflect to Nadia just this once.

She picked up the jacket that Nadia had dropped a white plastic packet dropped out. Heroin if Bridget had to take a guess. She didn't even want to pick it up.

There was a banging and she and Nadia both turned around to see Erin burst into the bathroom, Nadia had clearly called her and Erin's gaze went from the girl in the bathtub to Nadia to Bridget. She sighed as if she could feel Hank Voight's rage all the way from her apartment and then dropped down near the bathtub. Wordlessly Bridget showed her the Heroin and Erin's expression because rather nasty.

"Go call and ambulance and then call your Dad. Tell him what's happened, tell him the logo is something I don't recognised and it may be a bad batch, it's under a kilo but I don't have the exact weight or the price but it's going to be a lot if it's this strong"

Bridget nodded reaching for her cell and calling for am ambulance and then she dialled her Dad and wondered weather or not he'd ever let her out of his sight once he heard about this.

"Hey kiddo"

"You sitting down?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm at Erin's, Nadia brought a friend whose overdosing in her bathtub and there's a good dose of heroin on the floor"

Silence. Bridget closed her eyes and waited for the explosion.

"What!?"

And there it was.

She poked her head round the bathroom door holding out the phone as if it was a poisonous spider.

"He wants to talk to you" she said holding it to Erin who took one look at the phone and sighed as if she had no idea why she had even bothered getting out of bed this morning and then held the phone to her ear. "Hello Hank" she said in a sort of resigned voice and Bridget knew that the conversation wasn't going to be pleasant for any of them in the room right now.

* * *

Erin went to the hospital, Platt pulled Nadia aside with a face so grim you would have thought that someone had died and that left Bridget to climb the steps to Intelligence as if they were the steps to the gallows. She caught sight of Atwater at his desk and gave him a long limpid look. He grinned.

"How pissed is he?" she said going straight to the crux of the matter.

"Pissed" was all Atwater said. "He'd have gone straight to the hospital if he didn't know you were coming here."

Bridget nodded. "Can you make sure I have a nice funeral? You know, I don't want to end up in some muddy field near the docks, can you dig me up and bury me right?"

"Yeah sure" Atwater said his voice unconcerned turning back to his computor.

"I'll remember this come Christmas" Bridget drawled as her Dad stuck his head out of his office and jerked his head at her. She sighed again, all she had wanted was a pair of new jeans, was that too much to ask?

"So" was all he said shutting the door behind her. Bridget dearly wanted to say so what but she had feeling her father shouldn't be tested in the mood he was in. It was like running into danger stupidly rather than facing it head on.

She held out the heroin packet instead. Erin had put it in a plastic bag but considering all four of them had touched it there was very little to do about the chain of evidence.

Her Dad took it off her opened the door and dropped it on Atwater's desk who immediately took it off somewhere.

"So" he said again. Bridget stared at him suddenly feeling annoyed and angry. "Oh don't start" was all she said waspishly. "I didn't know that Nadia was going to bring her home did I? All I wanted was an opinion on a pair of jeans, I didn't take the stuff, I don't take the stuff."

"You didn't touch it on your hands? Nothing is on you?"

"No I just did my one line on the way over here—are you kidding me? Even Justin doesn't do drugs, does about everything else but not drugs, we know what happens if we do that. Give us some credit. Give me some credit"

Her Dad blew out a breath. "Ok" he said finally. "Ok."

"And you can tel Al Lexi doesn't do it either"

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Come on you think we don't know the two of you talk about us all the time?"

Her Dad at least had the grace to look amused if not ashamed.

"Ok, stay here until I get my team together, Erin's place is practically a crime scene right now and I don't want you anywhere near this until you have to be. I'll get someone to take you home in a couple of hours, Roman and Burgess are doing some sort of thing for the Bulgarian government a threat assessment, once they've done their list and come back for another one I'll get them to take you home"

Bridget was about to comment on the fact that while she liked Kim, she had never been in close contact with Roman and the one time she had seen him she had thought him a nightlight and the long lost sibling of Amanda Rollins because seriously how did people get their hair that blonde naturally?

Instead she decided to sit down because really? What other option did she have when her Dad was in this kind of mood?

The answer to that one was none.

* * *

Four hours later (which had felt like an eternity and she had made damn sure her Dad had known it) she had an opinion on her jeans (who knew Atwater and Halstead were good when it came to fashion choices) she was finally ran home, only she wasn't because halfway during the ride home Roman span the car around with the orders that something had happened and they were to take her back to the station.

As it turned out Meredith had been held hostage by some drug kingpins. Considering what could have been waiting for her at home Bridget kept her mouth shut and her head down and she thanked god that Lexi—her best friend had not been in the house at the time. She did not envy Al the chance to explain that one considering Lexi was an emotional wreck when it came to things like cop killers and shootings and had on more than one occasion scared the shit out of Bridget with hypothetical what ifs.

Instead she sat on the couch and had it not been for Roman finding her a burger and some fries and a coke she was pretty sure she would have starved to death. He on the other hand was glaring at a pretty woman in uniform Kim told him was his ex. Bridget just kept her head down and ate and wondered just how blonde Jen and Roman's kids would have turned out.

* * *

Finally she was given the ok from Platt to go home. Roman and Kim had one more house to check out and when Bridget said she was gonna walk home regardless Platt sighed and motioned that she should get in the car with the wonder twins and the blonde Jen. Kim was complaining of a headache and Bridget couldn't blame her because listening to blonde Ken and Barbie arguing all day about who was to blame for the end of their relationship was enough to give anyone a relapse and the excuse needed for murder. Bridget figured that out and she had only been in the car ten minutes.

When Kim snapped (and to be fair she had lasted longer than Bridget had thought she would) and yelled "Shut up! Just Shut Up" Bridget couldn't stop herself from getting out of the car and clapping her. Considering she wasn't supposed to get out of the car and she had without either one of them noticing the Ken and Barbie couple went down even lower in her estimation and she leaned against the car breathing in the fresh air when it happened.

The shot came from nowhere and Bridget ducked down feeling her knee bang against the hard conflict. Roman and Jen had their guns out, Kim was on the floor and Bridget suddenly felt very exposed and not in a good way. Roman made some sort of movement with his hand that she took to mean get the hell behind him and she ran crouching behind him feeling one arm wrap around her waist as together the three of them ran towards Kim who was on the floor blood gushing from her shoulder. Jen immediately tried to apply pressure but considering she only had one hand free Bridget took charge.

"Move" she said and without another thought adrenaline coursing through her she pushed both her hands down on the blood feeling it get everywhere. She tried not to vomit, she could do that at the hospital once she survived.

She didn't want to think what would happen if the damn shooter started firing again.

* * *

Hank had, had a good day. Meredith was ok, there was a load of heroin off the street and his daughter was safe, such was the day he had had he was online looking for something that he could give her as a treat for today. Even he had to admit that today she had deserved it. Though he had no doubt that she was going to give him hell for wasting a Saturday at the prescient when she could have been doing a million and one other things.

He had no idea what he was looking for but he could just send some ideas to Erin and she would take care of the rest. At least he knew his daughter liked boots and that had to count for something.

He had just checked his phone (because in all honestly he had been expecting a message from her saying she was home) when Jay came up the stairs looking like he had just ran a mile. He skidded into Antonio and then took a breath.

"Burgess has been shot"

Hank shot out of his seat. Everyone had gone very still.

"I don't know what's happened, I don't know if they dropped Bridget off Sarge all I know is she's down and Roman's called in an active shooter"

 _No. No. No._

 _Not again. Please not again._

He forced his mouth to work.

"Let's go"

 _No. No. No._

* * *

 **Next Chapter-The team regroup after Kim's shooting, Bridget makes Hank realise something about Kim and Adam and Roman looks for support.**

 **Enjoy.**


	13. Failed Experiments

**Hi, so here is another update, I appreciate it is late and shorter than usual but this is just because I am massively swamped with uni work and that takes up a lot of my attention.**

 **I will try and do another update but I tend to do a massive update of three or four chapters before Christmas so if you dont get an update between then then I can promise you a lot of Christmas updates.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 13-Failed Experiments

The team regroup after Kim's shooting. Bridget makes Hank realise something about Kim and Adam and Roman looks for support in a moment of weakness.

* * *

Within seconds of Roman entering the house the ambulance was there and Jen the blonde barbie cop was barking out orders. Bridget gave the paramedic's fair warning before she pulled her hand of the still gaping wound and then she was stood there blood sticking to her hands as the paramedics worked on Kim. She had to give the PD credit. This was the first time that she had been in a situation like this and within ten minutes of Jen calling in the shot they were there. Adam arrived first and he went straight to Kim before he even took in stock of the scene. The second cars she knew would have her Dad in them and she was right when the black SVU skidded to a halt and she turned to see him leap out of the car so fast she was still sure that the car was moving.

There was a pause where she stood there and watched her Dad gun drawn take in the surroundings and then take in her standing there blood on her hands and her face slightly swaying as she took in what was happening and her body had chance to cool down from the emotions that were swirling through her. For a second longer than before they were stood there looking at each other and then her father crossed the street, stuck his gun back in his holster and pulled her into a hug.

For a second they hugged each other on the street as if the chaos surrounding them didn't matter. Bridget found herself hugging him back.

As soon as they pulled away though there was another shot in the house.

"Roman" Bridget breathed and she half moved to go towards the house but her Dad locked his grip on her forearm and pushed her backwards so that she couldn't move. She gritted her teeth. One cop down today was enough as far as she was concerned. "Stay here" he commanded however and then he ran up the stairs and Bridget was left gritting her teeth and feeling her stomach twisting into knots as she stood there amid all the carnage and tried not to imagine what was going on in that death trap. She had imagined what this was like many times but she had never thought it was like this.

She bit her bottom lip as another car screeched to a halt. That was Adam, the look he shot Kim was so anguished Bridget knew within seconds that they were together. Between these two and the obvious sexual tension dancing around Erin and Jay she thought it was a wonder that her Dad had not figured it out but then again he wouldn't know a romantic relationship if it danced naked in front of him with a sign that screamed romance.

There was a pause where she stood there staring at the house. Adam touched her arm and he only stared at her when he saw the blood on her face and hands and not much else. Bridget didn't know weather or not that was a good thing or a bad thing but she didn't want to be touched right now nor did he seem to want to touch her. He gave her a quick clinical once over as if to check she wasn't bleeding and then turned back to the house and his girlfriend who was being loaded in an ambulance.

There was a bang and suddenly everything went still and for a second Bridget couldn't breathe. She was stood there for another long pause as everyone had their guns trained on this house and then Roman came out and announced that it was clear and then Adam and Al were gone and Bridget was once again left on the street not sure what the hell she was going to do now.

In the end she decided to go with Roman. Either way her Dad was not going to want her at the crime scene and she needed to go and wash all this blood off her because any minute the emotional side of her brain was going to defeat the clinical side and she was going to break down and she would also rather not do that on the street in front of a load of cops. Either way she was screwed so she barked out something to Antonio who had just arrived and then climbed onto the ambulance with Roman who was shaking so violently he looked like he was about to be sick.

Even Bridget in this moment was filled with pity for him. She doubted there would be any cop that wasn't filled with pity for him or any human being for that matter. This was everyone's worst nightmare who had the badge on their hip. Even she knew that and she had never seen a cop shot before just heard about it. She only knew what it was like for the families she had no idea what it was like for the cops that were there. Suddenly she felt very cold.

And that was before Kim started flatlining.

Now Bridget had watched enough Grey's Anatomy to know that when you shocked a person you shouldn't be touching her and so (because it was clear that Roman could barely move) when the paramedics began she was the one who pulled his hand away. He looked at her with his wide blue eyes and Bridget suspected that he'd had no idea that she had even come on the rig with him. Nobody could be mad at him in that moment and she realised that he was trembling. She wrapped one arm around him and Roman flinching every so often when his partner was being shocked leaned his head against her shoulder as if Bridget was a woman his equal and not some scared sixteen year old turning seventeen in a couple of months.

They got to the hospital and she pulled him off the rig. He looked at the doors for a second and then he reached out grabbed her by the hand and the two of them were running down the corridors of Chicago Med as if their lives and not Kim's depended on it.

She only let go to go and grab some coffee and when she came back Kim was in surgery and Barbie the female cop had gone.

"What happened to Jen?" she asked sitting down.

"Gone" Roman said shortly. "She wanted to wait but I said no. I have to go in a couple of hours and give your Dad my report. God he's going to kill me for this" he gave her a searching look. "You alright?"

Bridget shrugged.

"I'm not shot if that's what your asking" she said finally. "And that's got to be a good thing"

Roman nodded. "Thanks for keeping it together" he said finally. "I'm so sorry Miss Voight, had I known that this was going to happen I would have never taken you there…I…your father is going to sink me I know it"

Bridget snorted, she couldn't help herself, she had never been 'Miss Voight' except that one time she had been in court and she was not about to start being called that now.

"Firstly it's Bridget, Roman and no he's not. Trust me. He might be mad at you but he's not going to kick you when your down."

"My name is Sean" Roman said finally. "Manners and common sense say after tonight we get to call each other by our first names"

"Ok Sean" Bridget said taking a sip of her coffee.

Sean nodded. "This is my fault" he said leaning forwards and putting his head in his hands but Bridget was already shaking her head and putting her hand on his back.

"No it's not" she said firmly. "The only person responsible for this is the person who loaded that gun and that house. And my Dad will get him. Trust me."

Sean nodded though Bridget was willing to bet that he hadn't heard a word that she had said and she didn't know how to make him believe it.

* * *

Hank got to the hospital in record time. He had left Antonio at the house and had come to get Roman. He needed someone who understood what the hell he was walking into to work this case and he wanted to see Bridget. Antonio had told him she had gone to the hospital and there she was sat next to Roman her legs crossed. If it wasn't for the blood on the side of her face and her hands he would have thought she was there for an appointment like she had been months ago when Antonio had been shot and she had spent all night out driving him mad with worry.

Bridget caught his eye and stood up patting Roman on the leg as she did.

"How is she?" he asked. He needed to keep his shit together if he had any chance of getting the bastard who did this and while all he wanted to do was throw his arms around his daughter and hug her he couldn't do that and solve this case. There was a cop killer running around his city, it was better for Bridget and for him and for all the other kids of cops if he was caught sooner rather than later.

The look on Bridget's face told him she understood that and so much more.

"In surgery, Roman's a mess, I'm fine just a bit shook up. Look I know that you don't allow civilians to work on cases but say if I just came to the prescient with you and sat in the bullpen while you all worked that's not really working is it?"

Ah Hank could see where she was going. God she was as cleaver as her mother and perhaps even more beautiful (and alive too).

"Yeah I don't see how that's gonna be a problem" he said matching her slow tone and seeing her grin. "I mean after all you are a witness, we do have to get your statement don't we?"

"Exactly what I was thinking" Bridget said beaming. "Also don't be a dick to Sean all right? He feels like shit as it is and I did get out of the car even when they all said not too"

Hank snorted.

It was only after he was driving Bridget back that it came to him.

Since when was Roman, Sean?

* * *

Blood finally washed off, statement taken and four hours of sleep later, Bridget came back to a bullpen alive with cops. In the early hours of the morning, Erin and Jay had tried to infiltrate a house which had nearly resulted them in being blown up and then Sean and Adam had gotten in to a screaming match in the middle of the street. The only thing that was in her opinion good about this whole situation was that they had a suspect in mind and so she sat down on the edge of a desk and listened like she had months ago when her Dad had given the order that if they found the gangster that shot Antonio he was to be brought to them to die without justice.

The problem was how could they find him.

Her Dad directed the troops and she found herself in his office again.

"Hey are Adam and Kim?" he asked coming in through the door.

"Yeah" Bridget said cutting him off.

"Ugh"

"Yeah well what you gonna do. She's technically not in your unit she's in Platt's unit"

Her Dad didn't say anything.

"You know Erin is leaving to run her own taskforce"

"She told me" Bridget said and she had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"And you know what it means" she said. "Nothing you can go if she get's together with Jay"

"Ugh"

And then he slammed the door.

"Good talk Dad" Bridget said to the empty room.

She had to admit that he was getting better.

Kim was going to live. The suspect was in custody. She had finally got the blood out of her jacket. All in all it was a good day and now she needed a shower and some sleep in a proper bed.

"Good news" she said to Sean as she saw him outside the building. He flashed her a smile.

"Thanks" he said finally. "I don't know what I would have done without you last night"

Bridget smiled and felt her heart flutter strangely.

Sean hugged her without warning and she didn't know (but she did) why her heart was acting so oddly on the car ride home and she also didn't know (but she so did) why that night before she went to sleep she could almost see eyes that were so blue behind her own.

* * *

 **And there we go! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope I can publish another one sooner rather than later.**

 **Please let me know what you think.**

 **Next Chapter-Erin leaves PD and then comes back to PD. Bridget wants to learn how to drive (and Hank is not looking forwards to that at all) Kim returns to work and Bridget sees a new side to Antonio when his sister is targeted by an arsonist.**


	14. Good Bones

**Hi, so here is another chapter. Again I apologise for the lateness but there should be another chapter following this one to make up for the stress that uni and working at Christmas has caused me.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this plot.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And we only have three more chapters left of the Season 2 arc so please do be aware that certain episodes will be skipped over or either glaringly glanced over.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 14-Good Bones

Erin leaves PD and then comes back. Bridget wants to learn how to drive (and Hank is not looking forwards to that one at all). Kim returns to work and Bridget sees a new side to Antonio when his sister is targeted by an arsonist (Some Episode Jumping)

* * *

It came to Bridget when she washing up the pots after dinner one night. Erin had come back to the team and therefore because she was back with the CPD she was now having dinner with them. She and her Dad had moved onto the coffee when the idea came to her. After all—she was owed something for that day of torment that had culminated in a shooting that had seen her watch a cop go down in front of her. She had known that her Dad had been watching her for some time trying to figure out what was going on inside her head but the truth of the matter was she had been more bothered about her home invasion than she had been standing in the street covered in Kim's blood.

Which had been a strange thought to get her brain around she couldn't deny.

There was a pause where she stood there and she bit her bottom lip. It wasn't an unreasonable request now she came to think about it. She was turning seventeen in a month or so and things at the precinct had quietened down and so it wasn't a completely unreasonable thing to ask her father who was overly protective on a good day was it?

"Can I learn how to drive?"

Erin choked into her coffee.

Bridget had never brought up the discussion of driving before. When her father had been in prison it had not seemed appropriate to ask and anyway she had always managed with the Subway and Erin driving. Even now she was a fast runner, but she couldn't deny that it had been something pressing on her mind especially with the home invasion she had survived. Perhaps things might have concluded differently if she'd had an easy way to make her escape. Far too often bad things had gone wrong because she had not been able to get behind the wheel and get herself to safety. Or use that to her advantage.

She remembered the day Antonio Dawson had arrested her father and she had been told to come down to the prescient to answer questions and she remembered the burning hatred she had felt. Perhaps it was best that she had not had a car that day. She had probably been arrested alongside her Dad because in the mood she had been in she'd have probably ran Antonio over with that car.

Her Dad stared at her for a second as if she had just confessed to a life as a closet junkie.

"You what?" he said finally.

"I want to get my learners permit and learn how to drive" Bridget repeated. "You don't have to teach me. Find someone you like and then let me know but it's high time I got behind the wheel of a car"

And she turned back to her pots and pans feeling rather victorious with herself and completely missing the amused look on Erin's face and the somewhat panicked look on her Dad's at the thought of her behind the wheel of a car as a young driver when as a cop he had seen a fair few young drivers in trouble.

No. Bridget did not see all that. After all she had just thought she'd won the battle. No need to spoil it just yet.

* * *

"She wants to learn how to drive?" Hank bemoaned to whoever was listening—and let's face it that was Al. Who was grinning as he ate his way through the donuts Hank had bought with him too work. Donuts that Hank had bought his best friend so that he might have a shred of loyalty towards the catastrophe that was now presented with. Bridget driving? Bridget driving? Oh for the love of God really? Had time really slipped through his fingers and now it was presented with this?

"So teach her, Lexi's caught on quick to it"

"You had Meredith teach Lexi. Can you see me teaching Bridge to obey the speed limits? Can you? Because all I can see is the carnage."

"Get someone else to do it?" Al said shrugging and grabbing the last donut that had the chocolate sauce in the middle. Hank sighed.

"Like who?" he asked. "Erin? Who drives like she's in the middle of a warzone? Jay? Who actually did drive in a warzone? Adam whose like ten for crying out loud? Antonio she hates though I don't know why, you and me will end up killing her and she'll end up killing Platt. Kim's only just got back to work and she doesn't deserve her life put in danger that soon to returning and who does that leave?"

"Sean Roman?" Al suggested too innocently for Hank's liking.

"Oh Sean" he said frowning. "You know she calls him Sean now. Ugh"

"There's Atwater"

"Atwater's got two kids dependant on him, he can't afford to die in a road accident with my daughter behind the wheels"

"Ok so there's Roman." Al gave him a long look. "You know you have a habit of seeing things that are not there. There could be nothing between them that is not simple friendship born of a travesty. Also he's nearly seven years older than her"

"And you and I know relationships that have been made with more of an age gap between them."

Al shot him a rather pitying look which Hank thought was rather unfair because it could have been Al here with Lexi and Hank was sure he would have been a good deal more sympathetic than his so called best friend was being now.

Unfortunately he knew Al was right. And he thought to himself viciously—did they really need Roman around that much?

Roman was not as unenthusiastic as Hank would have felt comfortable with. There was the simple fact that he had his own car and was willing to trade of driving lessons with a sixteen year old next week for the chance to be in plain clothes for a few cases and work with Intelligence. Typical. Roman was despite everything a good cop with a good career in front of him. It was just that he was so…blonde.

Seriously that was unmanly. He was almost glowing.

And his daughter was growing up before his eyes.

* * *

Bridget had only met Antonio's sister once and that had been at her Dad's trial. She had sat at the back and seen the cop that had put the handcuffs on him and the woman beside the fire captain who Bridget had thought rather scathingly was panting after him. They did not look like siblings at first glance. Antonio when they had left the courtroom had not met her eyes but she had.

 _Gabriella._

Bridget had sent her a look that tried to say that she thought she was pathetic and she hoped that one day she would feel this pain and she thought that perhaps it had come to fruition when she had learnt that Gabriella Dawson had narrowly escaped death and that her partner had died. Bridget wasn't as cold as to wish death on an innocent person but she had to admit that she was not surprised that someone who had pushed and pushed for her father and brother to lose everything had lost her friend.

So no. All in all she was not a fan of the Dawson brother and sister and when she returned to the prescient one day to see if her Dad had something regarding a plan for driving lessons she ran into the two of them in the middle of an argument on the steps of the breakroom.

It didn't take a genius eavesdropper to figure out what the main topic of conversation was. It was as always her father and she paused boot on the last step to listen. She was curious despite herself and also Bridget had to admit that she had been desperate to throw some venom Antonio's way for a very long time.

She got the gist of the conversation quickly.

"Well look whose come full circle on Voight"

She strained her ears waiting for his sister's reply and she felt her lips curl back into a snarl as she heard it. So breaking the law was ok for cops when Gabby Dawson got something out if was it? But when her boyfriend got hurt then the cop had to be strung up by the balls?

Her instincts were right Bridget surmised. At the trial she had never liked that woman and this only confirmed in her opinion that brother and sister were both as hypocritically rotten as all the other criminals that she had, had the misfortune to meet.

Also she was pretty sure that her sympathy for Antonio losing his son had just dried up as well.

Good. Far too much empathy going on in her head for her own liking these days.

The door opened then and Bridget stopped on the step staring at Antonio who looked surprised to see her. He recovered quickly she'd give him that but the look his sister shot her was more worried than confused. Bridget didn't even look at her.

"I'm looking for Dad" she said finally.

"Upstairs" Antonio said pointing. "Bridget this is my sister Gabby, Gabby this is Voight's daughter Bridget"

Bridget was distinctly aware that Gabriella was staring at her in surprise and she turned her expression to her. She was somewhat pleased to see the woman take a smidge of a step back away from her brother when she saw the look on her face. She bit the inside of her cheek in order to force herself to stop smiling. Bridget could be magnanimous.

Most of the time.

"I know who this is" she said coldly. "I was at that trial remember"

There was a very uncomfortable pause. Bridget revelled in it for a second and then turned on her heel.

"Hey" Gabriella called behind her. "You know your Dad was guilty then don't you?"

She turned around to see Antonio Dawson's look of despair at his sister's lack of tact. Bridget pulled herself to her highest height and stared down at the woman with a smile that she hoped made her feel small—as small as Bridget had felt during that time not so long ago.

"Doesn't matter" she said seeing her way out of this. "But it's nice to know your morals that led you to beg your brother to save your boyfriend by turning on his own an action which could have cost him dearly considering sometimes back up is slow when it comes to rats has limits when you can get something out of it" She smiled cruelly.

"But then again he wasn't your boyfriend then was he? Wasn't he in love with someone else?"

And she slammed the door on the little hypocrites before either one of them could explode.

* * *

"She's cold" Antonio said quietly to Hank as they were coming up the stairs. The two of them had just seen Erin and Jay to the break room with strong coffee for both the temper and the shock of seeing a car blow up in front of them. They had brought home the pizza and most of the patrol officers including Adam and Kevin had nabbed a slice claiming that they were hungry.

"Erin's fine" Hank said as he reached his office door. Antonio leaned against the door.

"Not Erin, Bridget. She's cold. She hates me"

Hank levelled him a long look.

"You didn't exactly give her the best first impression of you Antonio considering you interrupted our breakfast with a battering ram to arrest me and then had her questioned for two hours. You scared the crap out of her and you never did say sorry for it."

Antonio sighed in hindsight he could have done that better.

"Even so Hank, we work together, I like to think we have a good working relationship. I want us to work together well, we need to trust each other and she basically implied my sister was a whore for Matt Casey and I was a rat for both of them. That's dangerous talk and you know it. Just…please can you get her to tone down the rhetoric"

Hank sighed again. "Fine" he said but Antonio knew the bastard was more proud and amused than frustrated and exasperated and he felt like ramming his head into the desk.

God he needed this case over. There was a reason why he didn't like to mix his work with his sisters. Too many crossovers and some wires were bound to get frazzled.

* * *

Bridget was at home watching TV when she heard the knock on the door. She peeped through the hole and then unlocked it to see Antonio leaning against the frame looking exhausted. Bridget had been told some of what had happened between his sister and the arsonist who had killed her best friend and had figured out the rest so she didn't blame him for looking exhausted and in need of a hot bath, a greasy meal and a good strong drink.

"Dad's not here" she said finally. If he was here to chew her out over this morning so help her she was going to hit the roof.

"I didn't come here to see him" Antonio said drawing a line in the dirt with his toe. Bridget stared at him willing him to continue because she knew there were a million and one things she would rather be doing right now rather than dealing with that.

"Ok" she said finally.

"Look" Antonio said sighing. "I get it. I arrested your Dad, hauled you off for questioning and—look regardless I know it looked bad but—things were going on and your Dad and brother were both out of control and—look—I know I should have handled you—what happened with you that day better and I didn't and at the trial you were there and I looked at you and…you were right I did rat out your father even if he was guilty. Catch twenty two really but—I think about you that day and now I see my own daughter and I realised that I never said sorry to you. I'd want someone to say sorry to her, and today I almost lost my litter sister. So I'm sorry Bridget. I'm sorry I scared you that day and I'm sorry I ruined your life for those months. I should have handled it better. I know that now. Weather you want to forgive me or not I had to say it."

He nodded once to himself and then pointed at his car. "Look I gotta go and see my sister. Pretty sure the adrenaline downfall on this one's gonna be tough. I hope to see you again soon"

And then he was gone.

Bridget locked the door and sat back down on the couch.

She had to give him this much she though wryly, it did take a lot to leave her stunned into silence.

* * *

 **And let me know what you think, hopefully there will be an update coming sooner rather than later.**

 **Next Chapter-Bunny Fletcher makes an appearance, Jay's brother makes an appearance as well, Roman takes Bridget out for driving lessons, Hank becomes increasingly suspicious and Jay, Will, Bridget and Hank get involved in a shoot out at a house with a wounded civilian. And all Bridget wants is a quiet life. **


	15. I'll Fly Away

**Hi, so here I another chapter, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the one previous. I apologise for not updating but I have had massive issues with updating via my computor and then I got struck down by the dreaded Christmas cold and was bedridden for a few more. There are two more chapters of Season 2 left to go and I hope to have them published before the new year so please keep in mind that this might not be the last chapter. No promises on updates however as I do have a lot of university works to do.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this plot.**

 **As always there will be some jumping around episodes and some jumping around the plot as in this chapter must mostly things are cannon.**

 **Also on a side note I do not know the age of Sean Roman but I improvised. He seems to have some years on the job and also no college education meaning he joined up as soon as he turned eighteen as far as I can tell. Five years in my book is not a terrible age gap but I want to know what you think as I am torn between this being a learning curve for a character I like very much or some kind of stab at a relationship. Bridget is seventeen in this story and therefore not underage in Chicago for any relationship weather It be with Sean or someone else. But let me know what you think as I am torn somewhat.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 15-I'll Fly Away

Bunny Fletcher makes an appearance, Jay's brother makes an appearance as well, Roman takes Bridget for driving lessons, Hank becomes increasingly suspicious and Jay, Will, Bridget and Hank get involved in a shoot out at the house of a civilian. Bridget comes to the realisation that all she really wants is a quiet life. Some Episode jumping and cannon events changed.

* * *

Bridget was actually getting better and better and at driving. Roman…Sean was actually a very good teacher when it came down to it. He never pushed her more than she wanted to and she left the lessons each week she found that there was always something new to learn when she got back in the car. Soon they became the highlight of her week though Bridget wondered how much of that was the sense of freedom with getting behind the wheel and how much of it was Sean.

That last part she didn't want to think about too much because it would have made her Dad suspicious and her no doubt into a fool. What could happen? I mean really what could happen? Granted there was nothing illegal that could happen between them and it was only five years between them and five years was not a massive gap. Bridget had last month turned seventeen, in a year she would be eighteen. Girls her age had relationships with men older than that. Hell, Lexi had and Lexi was months younger than her.

But when she thought over this in her head and she found that she could only see humiliation for herself over this crush and whenever she imagined that she closed her eyes and turned her face away from her dark ceiling and tried to get to sleep.

That humiliation she thought was a bit more than she could bare right now.

And the arrival of the bunny-boiler that was Bunny Fletcher had not put her Dad in a good mood. Bridget had only had the misfortune of meeting Bunny twice in her lifetime and both times had been more than she could stand. The woman made her want to slam her head against the squad car door or Bunny's whichever she felt like and it always made her house like a war zone because her Dad was already in a bad mood what with something that had been going on that she didn't know about and didn't want to.

There was a pause where she stood there one morning in the precinct after Sean had dropped her off and she ran a hand through her hair. She wished she had washed it before she'd had a driving lesson but there was so many things that she should have said that she didn't know how to say and she felt foolish…that was a feeling she didn't think she'd felt before. Bridget had never been foolish or even thought that she acted it until recently. She thought she was usually in a very strong grip of herself until now.

Typical.

She was about to put one foot on the steps to go upstairs when she heard the loud cackle that could be contributed to Bunny Fletcher and she turned around in a flash and walked back down the stairs and out the precinct. Walking in the snow was better than dealing with that woman.

"Don't blame you kid" Trudy said to her as she passed and Bridget turned to smile at her and because she was smiling at Trudy and her understanding of the horror that was Bunny Fletcher she completely missed the tall dark red headed man who was coming through the door with Jay and promptly bumped into him. She saw him and she blushed. Bridget wanted to kick herself. Honestly what was wrong with her right now that she felt the urge to act completely out of character whenever there was a good looking man around.

"Hey" Jay said smiling at her. Bridget liked to think that they were on good terms her and Jay because she had never actually had a problem with Jay before.

Unlike some people she could mention.

And yeah she was directing that one to the people upstairs.

"Hey" she said back. And really what was it with the Halstead brothers? Why did they both look like Calvin Klein models and she felt like some awkward little duckling? They should have named the classic book that—would have made a hell of a lot more sense.

"Oh Will this is Bridget Voight" was all that Jay said and the man…Will held out his hand. Bridget took it feeling all hot and bothered again. Had she missed this when her Dad was in prision or when Justin had been…well Justin and she had spent most of her childhood alone. She'd had friends of course but the truth of the matter was that she had never been looked at like she was separate from her father. There had been Oliver of course at the block of flats but not much else. And she had not been the one talking about feelings that night.

But Jay was still speaking and she forced herself to listen to him as he was introducing his brother who was apparently a doctor and a very good looking one at that. She shook her head and then ducked out the door smiling feeling utterly confused. She had never felt like this before, all…teenager.

Actually she supposed that for the first time she did feel like a teenage girl.

Ugh.

* * *

Later that night she came downstairs to see her Dad cooking. He didn't do that, that often but there was a borderline hysterical glee about him that he kept hidden buried which meant that Bunny Fletcher had pissed off back under whatever rock she came out of. Bridget grinned. Even Nadia after five seconds in the woman's company had appreciated the circumstances that would have seen Erin leave home and go on the streets over living with that woman.

That reminded Bridget of something. Nadia was going to be a cop soon enough and she needed a book that Bridget had that she had picked up in the library on local government for her politics paper.

"Can you drop this off at Nadia's desk" she said indicating the book.

"Is that new top?" her Dad asked as sat down at the table. Bridget stared at him. He was rather suspicious today. He had never took an interest in her fashion before unless it had been to question her about her choices (the low cut black dress that night she had been out was still in the back of her closet and she was never going to bring out while her father was in the house) this top however she thought was rather nice even if it was a bit different than what she usually wore. It was pink wrap around top with little flowers on it and it was a bit older and a bit more girly she supposed than what she usually liked to wear but she liked it.

"Yeah why?"

"Bit low isn't it?"

"No"

"You changing, your clothes for anyone…special…"

It took Bridget a second before she managed to understand where this half assed kind of conversation was coming from. There was a pause where she stood there and then she laughed.

"Are you trying to talk to me about boys? Didn't we have this conversation two years ago or something?"

"I'm not talking about boys…I'm taking about men"

He said the word like it was some kind of poisonous drug that he had just found on the streets Bridget noted with interest. Honestly sometimes the man made her want to scream with both frustration and laughter. Honestly.

"Ok I don't know where the hell this has come from but I turn seventeen in a few weeks and most of the guys my age are men and not boys. And…honestly does it really matter about how old he is if I really like him"

Carefully she kept her voice blank.

The phone rang then cutting across the conversation and she turned to answer it and completely missed the both the look on his Dad's face and the vicious mutter that he gave the pasta sauce in the pot that it did matter.

* * *

Oh Jay had not wanted to do this. He had not wanted to bring him brother into Voight's home in the middle of a shoot out and have him perform surgery on his bosses table while his daughter, his seventeen or was it sixteen he didn't know but he had not wanted to drag her into this even if the girl was hurriedly turning off the stove and changing her jumper. Jay got a look a whole stretch of the skin of Bridget's back and a bit of black bra before he looked away. His boss had not noticed which Jay supposed was one of the main reasons why he was still alive right now though what with the banging around the house he suspected that, that might not be something he could cling too shortly.

There was a pause where he stood there. Honestly couldn't Will hurry this up?

He hissed that at his brother who shot him a look that said he was thought that Jay was insane.

"This isn't policework" he hissed under his breath as Bridget was still hanging over the body with a dead look on her face which told Jay that unsurprisingly this was not something that was new on her list of things she had seen. Jay wasn't surprised. As far as toughness went Bridget Voight was only second to Erin. Though he might be a little biased there.

"Lift the phone torch a little bit higher Bridget please…anyway Jay this is delicate work. I assume you want him to live right? Well I have to do this rather complicated stich in complete concentration and your doom and gloom running commentary is not at all distracting" Will hissed back at him.

Jay gritted his teeth as he reached for his gun. Voight was going to come back any second. It was Will, this kid, Bridget and the mother they were defending from who knew what.

God he thought once as he loaded his gun. Will had always been a complete and utter stick in the mud but now he was just unreal.

Jay had to get his little brother laid and fast. He cocked his gun grinning.

This was where the fun began.

* * *

"Well that was an interesting way to reconnect" Will said into his third beer three hours later. They were in his brother's apartment which looked like it needed a fresh coat of…well…everything. Bridget Voight was sat on the end of the couch next to them. She had took a beer for herself despite Jay's grimace and then sat down. Considering her father was somewhere in Canada and Erin was still treating her house like a crime scene she had taken up Will's offer to come with them. She was still in her leggings but her jumper had been a bit blood splattered and Will had prodded Jay (who had no sense of chivalry whatsoever) to go and find a clean shirt. His brother had found it in his draw and Bridget had slipped the Army jumper on. She seemed to be doing alright but Will wanted to keep an eye on her. Tough she might be she was still young and adrenaline crashes and PTSD didn't discriminate.

Jay snorted into his beer.

"You doing ok kid?" he asked Bridget. She pulled a face but it wasn't as if she scared or anything. It was if she was tired of this. As if what had happened tonight was a daily thing. What that was like Will couldn't imagine. He was going to have trouble doing a procedure like that again without thinking of how he nearly got shot.

"Sometimes" Bridget said finally. "All I would really like is a quiet life"

And with that she got up and slammed the door to Jay's bedroom.

"Ok" Jay said into the silence. "Apparently you and I are sleeping in here tonight"

Will sighed. As long as he didn't get the floor.

* * *

 **And there you go let me know what you think. I will try and update sooner rather than later.**

 **Next Chapter-Voight and his team go after a serial killer with tragic consequences for one member of the team. Bridget finds herself caught in the crossfire (again) and makes a decision during the investigation. Penultimate chapter of the Season 2 arc.**

 **And I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a very happy and safe 2019.**


	16. Warm And Dead

**Hi, so here is the penultimate chapter of Season 2. I am glad to have it up before New Year and another one should be following this.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 16-Warm And Dead

Voight and his team go after a serial killer with some help from some old friends with tragic consequences for one member of the team. Bridget finds herself once again caught in the crossfire and makes a decision during the investigation. Penultimate chapter of Season 2 arc.

* * *

After two weeks where she avoided the prescient like the plague Bridget had to go in it again. It was night and the sky was oppressive but she had gone in to give Nadia a hand with setting up Erin's surprise birthday party they were going to throw. There seemed to be a theme to this. Bridget had tried to point out that Erin hated surprises but that had only egged Jay and Nadia on.

She had been running late because she had had an agonising time deciding what to wear which was strange—at least for her because she never had moments like this. She found whatever was clean and put it on. Never had Bridget agonised that much over what to wear and never when she got to the place where her Dad worked which was a second home to her as it was. She bit her lip nibbling it between her teeth for a second. This was something Lexi did and this was also something she would admit that she needed Lexi for. She had thought about asking for help but the thought of going to Lexi and saying she had found a man…that she liked and then telling her who it was (and Lexi's glee when she found out) was too much to even imagine.

She had straightened her hair which was something she didn't do because she found it tiresome to manage and left it loose over her decent pair of jeans that she knew framed her ass really well and a bright yellow jumper. She had her black coat on (it was cold after all) and her boots which she had nicked once from Lexi because they were tall to mid-thigh, black and more expensive than anything either one of them had seen before—in fact Bridget wondered how Lexi had gotten them but she had never asked—after all what you didn't know didn't hurt you. She had done a little more eyeliner than she was used too and lipstick rather than her lip gloss. She didn't have the same look in her eye she had that night she had forced herself into that dress but regardless she knew she looked good.

Se…someone would take notice. Maybe that was what she needed. Someone to take notice. Someone who wasn't afraid of her father. Yeah that would be nice. Well she knew who…but never mind that. Either way someone who liked her for her, for being nothing but Bridget rather than Bridget Voight. Sometimes…there were times Bridget was convinced her name cost her more than it gave. Especially now.

She walked into the main hall just as if it was a normal day. She had the card in her bag though the cake was firmly on Nadia. Still fastening the clasp back on her bag she didn't realise that she was walking into something of a hushed environment until she accidently walked into someone. She opened her mouth looking up and she saw that there was man staring down at her. There was nothing welcoming or apologetic in his gaze, he simply stared at her as if she was a new piece on the chessboard he hadn't considered using before. There was something deeply disturbing in that look that made her suddenly want go back and hide under her bed.

There was a pause where she stood there and then there was a hand on the man's back pushing him towards the door. In that second he was gone but Bridget couldn't help but feel cold remembering the look on his face. A hand touched her shoulder.

"You ok kiddo?" that was Jay Halstead. Bridget nodded. "What did he do?" she asked. She meant it as a joke, some light hearted and stupid attempt at humour no doubt but Jay gave her a long and sad look.

"We think he raped and then set on fire over five different women in New York and Chicago. All brunettes as well. He was giving Nadia the eye as well"

Bridget made a mental note to never ask about a case again because there were somethings that she just didn't want to know about and this was one of them.

"Wonderful" she muttered heading up the stairs. "And I got the card by the way but now I am really not going out into the cold to get this damn cake"

* * *

"I still think this is dangerous" Bridget said as they dithered outside the door. Light was still falling on both of them but for some reason she felt itchy in her own skin. Like she knew the threat was somewhere else and just waiting to kick her in the teeth. Nadia who was next to her shook her head her brown curls flying over her shoulder.

"Look I know Greg Yates is a piece of work and your Dad is well pissed that we couldn't keep him locked up but I've seen worse than him. I lived on the streets for three years Bridget, I've sold drugs, my body and been addicted to the former. I should have been dead a long time ago so no serial killer is going to stop me from getting a decent birthday cake for the woman who saved my life"

Bridget snorted as they took a step out of the way of the door and into the darkness.

"Well you better get back before Dad finds out. Or Erin. Either way."

"Don't worry about it. You sure Erin likes chocolate?"

"Yeah"

Nadia smiled at her. Out of the corner of her eye Bridget thought she saw something lurking behind a car. She turned to see what it was but there was nothing. Must just be something in the air making her look. She shook her head. This was getting worse and worse as the cases got worse and worse. And it was freezing.

She watched Nadia turn a corner and then she was gone. Bridget climbed back up the stairs into the warm and didn't stop her shivering until she had her coat as a blanket on the couch in her Dad's office.

And New York was supposed to be colder as well.

That was the last time she saw Nadia alive.

* * *

The slight movement behind her told her that Bridget was there. She had not looked for Nadia because for once the two girls had their hair different and therefore she could distinguish even without looking the difference. Erin knew Bridget was stood behind her. She was happy—honestly a part of her was. Bridget was her family. Bridget fit the pattern of Greg Yates killing. Bridget was safe.

Nadia was missing.

Erin was trying not to panic. Really she was. Her car was missing and someone who fit Greg Yates description had it and now she was in the process of booking flights to New York but if she wanted to cling to a little hope that maybe he didn't have Nadia. Maybe she had gotten distracted or she had given up and scored. Even Nadia on drugs right now was better than Nadia dead at the hands of Greg Yates.

Jay had told her that theory was insane. Well those were not the words that he had used but he had said it nonetheless.

"He's got her" he said gently. "He's got her and we need to find her. Look Erin there's no other explanation, the only thing is he got Nadia instead of Bridget"

He had choked off then because he had seen that Hank was behind him but considering her bosses eyes seem to flicker from the board to Bridget and back again she knew the fact that it could have been Bridget in that car going to New York had not missed him. Bridget on the other hand had gone back to that closed off mask like expression she had adopted during the trial of both her father and her brother so Erin couldn't get a read on what she was thinking and not for the first time either.

Bridget had been mostly silent when Hank called up Roman and told him under no uncertain terms was he to leave Bridget's side during this whole twisted mess. Bridget was not following them to New York and Erin knew that, that was part of Hank's firm philosophy not to mix the fact that his daughter could have been abducted with the fact that there was still a chance that Nadia could still be…

Bridget had not looked happy. Erin who knew Bridget and had known Bridget's mother of whom she had taken after in spades gave it three hours and then she would be on a plane to New York after them, with or without Sean Roman.

Oh God let Nadia still be alive.

Please let Nadia still be alive.

* * *

Nadia was dead.

Sean read the message that Bridget had received and felt his knees give out. He had to sit down. Nadia was dead. Oh shit. This was gonna kill Kim. And Platt. Platt was going to be bad because despite all of their obvious issues the two women had cared about each other deeply. And now Nadia was dead.

Bridget was still staring at the wall. Twenty four hours in and now they knew either way. Nadia was dead. And Sean knew that it had not been a quick and peaceful death. It had been painful and he knew that.

"Sean" Bridget said finally. "You got any favours with Platt that you can call in?"

"Eh no" was the honest response there. He took a deep breath and then began to understand the inkling of the plan that was probably forming beneath those dark and somewhat deadly eyes. Oh…Sean was so going to get fired for this. He could feel it. Whatever it was Bridget was planning was not going to be good.

"Why?" he asked.

Bridget stood up.

"Because I'm pretty sure your supposed to be looking after me and weather or not you come with me I am going to New York on the next flight"

* * *

Nicholas Amaro had just sat down with his decent cup of coffee. His first of the day. No more shitty office coffee, this was the good kind that the Detectives visiting from Chicago had brought. Erin had needed a moment—probably for privacy but she and Jay had gone out and come back with decent coffee. A good americano with good milk and piping hot.

He was looking forwards to enjoying it when the door to the prescient opened and another woman came in with a man following her. She looked furious, he looked resigned. Looking at them and the way they both seemed almost in tune with each other (or they at least looked like they knew each other) Nick wondered weather or not they were together. Then he saw the gun at the man's belt. He was in jeans and a jumper. The woman who had long dark hair and had no gun was wearing a jumper, jeans, boots, a coat and dark sunglasses though why she was wearing them in winter Nick had no idea. But then again as Maria had told him—she being overseas had always had better fashion sense than Nick had. Either way both were clutching overnight bags.

"Hello" the man said upon seeing Nick staring there. He flashed a badge and Nick saw it as Chicago PD. Oh good, more of them. Voight was bad enough after all.

"My name is Officer Sean Roman from the Chicago Police Department, I'm looking for my boss Hank Voight."

Nick took a swig of coffee.

"Yeah he's in interrogation, I'll go get him…and you are?" he asked the woman. She shot him a look and then pulled down the sunglasses. Yeah, Nick had seen her before somewhere. Of that he was sure off.

"My name is Bridget Voight" she said looking around. "Hank Voight is my father"

Nick resisted the urge to smirk all the way into interrogation.

"Your daughter and an officer just turned up" he said sticking his head through the door.

"What the—Bridget!" Voight said upon seeing his daughter. "Roman why the hell did you bring her here?"

"Hell Sarge I didn't want to, she had tickets and told me that she was going with or without my help. Platt told me to take the time and go…she wants to see Yates swing by the way and make sure that your daughter arrives safely"

"Give it a rest Dad" Bridget said shaking her dark hair. "He tried ok. But I was on those steps with Nadia. It could have been me. So I wanna see this through"

Hank Voight opened his mouth and then shut it again. He muttered something that sounded like. "Daughters" and then went back into interrogation room. Roman moved off to speak to Halstead. The girl Bridget rolled her eyes and followed him.

"You know" said a voice behind him and he turned to see Antonio staring at him. "I have a daughter three years younger than Bridget. If this is the future then I'm gonna have to book in early retirement and be there with my gun in hand for the men like flies"

Oh…Nick could understand that.

"I hear you" he said thinking of Zara and then reaching for his coffee. Why oh why didn't Starbucks do a size larger than large?

* * *

Hank hadn't been wrong. The trial, as he had told Bridget in the hotel room the night before, would be horrific. Bridget had looked at him over the pizza box with a look that was freakishly like her mother. "I know" was all she said. "I knew that coming here Dad I'm not stupid"

Where had this confidence come from?

And he had still not forgiven Roman. Though technically he was here as Al and Platt's official mole on the trial there was something about the way his daughter seemed to look down and then look up whenever he was in the room that set his teeth on edge and he didn't know why—well he did know why but he didn't know what to do about it. Well he knew what he wanted to do about it. That was the problem.

He had re-read the department guidelines on the way down and there was nothing in them about what to do when your daughter had a crush on an officer. There was nothing about that relationship being…a relationship either as long as everyone was legal and Bridget was. Of course he could make Roman's life hell but Bridget would make his life hell and he didn't want that.

Bridget knew how to cook better than he did after all.

Roman was bunking with Jay. Antonio he had dispatched back to Chicago to find any more information on Yates that he could. And Erin had made it clear she was not leaving either way so she and Bridget were now sharing a room.

"You know that Barba bloke didn't mean it" she said over another slice of pizza. "Yates has to drag Nadia through the mud it's the only way he justifies it. Barba doesn't have a choice. And he's right. You couldn't make this case in Chicago"

Hank nodded. He knew she was right but he didn't want to say it. He didn't want to think about it either because Barba's other point…the point he had made privately was true. Hank was aware…God he was painfully aware that if things had been different that night then Bridget would have been the one in Nadia's place. That he knew, was going to keep him up at night for a very long time.

If he'd been looking up he would have seen the look on Bridget's face. She knew all of this he knew, she knew how he felt. The look was so painfully like his wife that he would have had to look away anyway but…even so…Bridget got it. Hank was pretty sure that was why she was here anyway. Though knowing her she'd have some sort of gift out of him before they got back on the plane.

He grabbed another slice of pizza.

God he hoped Barba could get this sicko to confess.

He remembered the look on Erin's face as Yates had accused her of being responsible for Nadia's death.

The sooner the better.

* * *

"At least that's over" Roman said as they got on plane. Flying was easier than training it. Bridget was already ahead of him in her new, New York hoody and jeans. She had been silent throughout the trial though Erin had made enough noise to forget about her. She was wearing Bridget's sunglasses. She had been drinking enough in Nadia's memory that night to close the bar. Roman had told Jay he was feeling the last vodka and even Jay had to admit he might have been better cutting off the last toast to Nadia and going to bed early.

Weather or not Bridget had gotten a drink he had no idea. The boss had gone to see Yates (who surprisingly was still alive in prison after that) and had not been in the hotel bar with them. Bridget had managed he knew to grab one and then had gone claiming she wanted to go to bed but Jay knew better.

"Oi" Hank said turning around as they put their luggage away. Roman had bagged a seat next to Bridget. Erin was next to the boss who was watching Roman and Jay with equal amounts of suspicion now. Jay personally thought Hank was going to put himself in an early grave worrying about what was going on in his daughter's life like that. But then again Jay didn't have a daughter so he supposed he didn't know how it worked.

"Yeah boss?" he asked.

"Erin" Hank said finally. "Keep an eye on her. Yates…he got to her"

Jay nodded. Erin really didn't look good. But then again did anyone when they were flying on a hangover?"

"Also err…Roman…you trust him right?"

Jay had a feeling he knew where this was going. Regardless of what Will would say he was not completely clueless and he had a feeling what Hank was trying to ask him as he saw the young cop with the seventeen year old woman.

Ah.

His initial thought was good for Roman if this thing turned into something but then he discarded that. He still wasn't sure if the boss could read minds.

"I trust him with my life" he answered truthfully. "He's a good copper boss. And…" he wanted to say Bridget could do worse but then he realised he didn't know what was going on, if something was going on or if it would because either one could say no and the boss might be reading this wrong. And nothing was worse than telling the boss that his daughter might be a relationship if she wasn't.

Yeah…nothing.

"He's a damn fine cop" he said finally.

The flight assistant told them to sit down and Jay almost ran to his seat.

He turned and realised Hank was right about one thing though. Erin looked terrible. And it wasn't just the hangover. But Jay would look after her. They were partners. And partners looked out for each other.

* * *

 **And yeah let me know what you think, last chapter of Season 2 should be following this one.**

 **Next Chapter-** **Erin's spiral sees her relationship with Bridget bottom out into what could be a dangerous situation. Platt gives Hank some advice concerning both of his daughters. Jay has to re-evaluate his feelings for Erin and gives Sean food for thought about Bridget in the final chapter of the Season 2 arc.**


	17. Judgement Day

**Hi, so here is the final chapter of Season 2! I hope you all enjoy this and I will be back with the first part of the Season 3 arc in the new year.**

 **And I hope you have a very happy start to your year!**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **Some Warnings for Underage drinking in a bar.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 17-Judgement Day

Erin's spiral sees her relationship with Bridget bottom out into what could be a dangerous situation. Platt gives Hank some advice concerning both of his daughters. Jay has to re-evaluate his feelings for Erin and gives Sean food for thought about Bridget in the final chapter of the Season 2 arc.

* * *

It was clear in the next week or so that Erin was not coping. Bridget had known that when she had come home from school and found Erin throwing up in her bathroom rather than her own. Bridget surmised that she had decided to throw up when she knew her Dad would be looking at her in Erin's apartment. Or more than likely Erin didn't want to be in her apartment that she shared with Nadia more than she needed to be. Nadia's stuff was boxed up—the problem was there was nobody to give it to. Bridget had been avoiding the office like the plague again. It was just safer this way.

Burgess was also in Intelligence now which was another reason Bridget didn't want to be there. Adam and Kim were sickeningly sweet on a good day. Bridget didn't want to see them in action on a bad one. Anyhow spending time with Erin was not fun because all Erin wanted to do nowadays was drink. Now Bridget was a fan of drinking as much as the next underage teenager but Erin was knocking back the booze as much as she could and then one night when she was with Erin, Erin had stopped off at a bar. Bridget stepped inside and saw Bunny Fletcher.

Oh fucking hell.

"Ah Bridget" Bunny said passing her a shot with an unconvincing smile. "So sorry about Nadia"

Bridget smiled and threw the shot on the floor when Bunny turned her back. She wouldn't put is past the woman to get back at her Dad through her by drugging the damn thing and then she stood up. She felt like telling Erin she was leaving but she saw the drug deal go down. Erin was going to be snorting coke tonight and Bridget didn't want to deal with that either way. She donned her coat over her short shorts and jumper and then resigned herself to walking back home (or at least to the subway) on her own in the dark.

If she ever made it home it would be a shot in the dark.

She got to the subway and back to the main street where Molly's was in time for last call. Considering she was supposed to be spending the night at Erin's and she didn't know what to do. But she was cold and Molly's was crowded enough so that she knew someone would by her a drink. Lexi had always preached about that being easy and Bridget was dressed in short black shorts, knee socks and boots and a black jumper because she had been told she was going out. She had no idea that had involved cocaine and Bunny Fletcher but she ducked into Molly's loos and by the time she had reupdated everything (make up) ran a brush through her hair and checked the bar she thought she might be alright. It appeared one of Otis cousins from Eastern Europe was behind the bar. Bridget shouted the words vodka and tonic and got a double for a single price and a table by the window and she figured that could blow off some steam here.

Of course one turned into two and then the bar began to thin. She turned her head slightly as she saw Platt's husband come out of the bar. Shit. She ducked back to her table new drink in hand and pulled her hair loose.

Sean and Kevin followed and Bridget was seriously beginning to wonder why the hell she had gotten out of bed this morning. Like why? Why did the universe hate her this much? What had she done wrong? Didn't everyone know it was her Dad who had the blood on his hands in her family? Ugh.

* * *

Kevin had just sat down with his beer when he got a look at the woman by the window.

"Sean you should hit that" he said pointing "Look at those legs"

His new partner turned and stared turned back and then stared again.

"Oh my God" he said looking as if someone had died. "Kevin that's Bridget Voight"

Kevin inhaled half of his beer. He imagined this was what dying felt like. He turned. Voight might have said he was working late but there was no telling with the man and he had a habit of springing up silently.

"Oh my God" he said wiping his shirt. "Sean don't tell Voight I said his daughter had nice legs, I'll end up in the canal"

"Of course not what are partners for? But what the hell is she doing here? And how the hell did she get served. Don't tell me we have to close down our local"

"Nah it's one of Otis family on bar doesn't speak English. Probably didn't check. You think we should…you know go over there…"

"Well if we don't someone's going to" Sean said grimly. "Besides she doesn't have a permit yet so god knows how she's going to get home"

To her credit Bridget saw them coming.

"Oh don't start" she said as they sat down. "I was supposed to be with Erin but she's with her mother and Bunny runs a roaring drug trade and this place doesn't."

Kevin filed that away for future investigations.

"Erin didn't see you leave?" he asked.

Bridget shrugged.

Sean and Kevin exchanged looks.

"You know she blames me for not being Nadia that day" Bridget said taking another gulp of whatever it was that she was drinking. Kevin shot Sean an alarmed look because he had just had his upholstery redone in his car and the bosses daughter upchucking all over it was not how he wanted to replace it again.

"Of course she doesn't" Sean said and Kevin nodded because that was true.

Bridget snorted once.

"Don't lie" she said taking another gulp. "And don't look at me like I'm drunk I'm not. It's just the truth. She's been off with me for weeks and Dad thinks that if he pushes us together then it will solve all the problems but he's wrong"

Kevin sighed. Damn Erin. He got it. He did but damn.

"Hey" Sean said tilting his head to the side. "Doesn't Bunny Fletcher's bar run down the East side of Chicago? How did you get to the subway?"

"I walked" Bridget said finally.

Sean and Kevin exchanged horrified looks. The neighbourhood in which Bunny Fletcher's bar was situated was not known for it's niceness. More likely it's cocaine trade. They both agreed mentally to never tell their boss that his daughter had been walking alone at night through the streets in shorts and a jumper. That was worth more than both their jobs.

"Come on we'll drive you home" Kevin said. Bridget shot him a bemused look. "I don't need you to drive me home" she said finally. "I have a drink to finish"

"Ha" Sean said taking the glass. "No you don't kiddo. We don't need to close down our local. And we don't need you going home with some older guy"

Bridget stood up then her whole body shaking with rage. She looked very striking and Kevin who did not under any circumstances see his bosses daughter as anything other than his bosses daughter had to admit that she did look older than seventeen. "I" she said her whole voice trembling with anger. "And not a kid Sean" and then she grabbed her jacket and was gone with a muttered. "I need some air"

"We can just grab her a taxi" Kevin offered. Sean shot him a look as he downed his beer in three gulps.

"Yeah" he said shaking his head. "You'd want that if this was Vanessa?"

That…that's was a point actually.

"Come on then" he said grabbing his jacket. "And just pray Voight isn't home yet"

Voight wasn't but Kevin knew that there was more going on here than he wanted to admit. And the smiles between Bridget and Sean were…new…even if they were friendly.

New.

Yes, that was what they were. New.

* * *

Trudy had been minding her own buisness when Hank grabbed her arm, dragged her into the side office and slid a meatball sub, skinny vanilla latte and chips at her. Trudy shot him a suspicious look. Hank shut the door.

"I think that Bridget has a crush on Sean Roman and I don't know how he feels about her so can you transfer him?"

Oh hell.

She opened the sub because she was hungry and took a bite.

"Hank sit down"

He did.

"I am not transferring one of my officers because he might be about to have a relationship with your very legal daughter"

"She's seventeen and he's…"

"Twenty three. Need I remind you that seventeen is not fifteen and there was what? Seven years between you and Camille?"

"Camille and I weren't dating while she was in school uniform. And Bridget's only been legal for like…four months"

"Hank they are not dating. You have to get over this whole friends dating thing. Just because it happened with Kim and Adam you have a downer on the whole thing. Bridget's took after your wife. You had to realise that she was going to get some male attention. And Sean appreciates the job—if it does turn into something you have to admit that she could do a whole lot worse. Besides teenagers have sex, we all did, don't kid yourself that Bridget being seventeen means kids younger than her are not having sex. I mean remember…well you wont because you were in prison but Al finding out Lexi wasn't a virgin at sixteen dominated most of this place for months."

Hank shot her an appalled look which Trudy ignored taking another bite.

"I don't trust him"

"Big surprise"

"And she was supposed to be spending the night at Erin's you know and when I came home she was asleep"

"Erin's a wreck. You wanna focus on one of them focus on Erin and leave Bridget alone. Erin's still not peed in that damn cup and you and I both know why. Bunny Fletcher. And someone is going to get caught soon enough."

"I told Erin to get some help" Hank shrugged. Trudy closed her eyes and then opened them again.

"Hank I love you I do but you are hardly what you could call understanding of grief. I remember when Camille died. I knew you were grieving but you were back at work the next day, you had the kids in school before the funeral and your response with Nadia's killer was instead of going to be with your team wrapping an arm around his throat…and yeah I heard about that one. Your tough love approach works with Erin when she's good because she's used to it. She doesn't need tough love. She needs the softer kind that has you there holding her when she breaks otherwise Bunny's gonna do it and we both know how that one's going to end"

"So that's a no on transferring Roman?" Hank asked. Trudy sighed. He probably hadn't heard a thing she said there had he?

"That's a no. Go talk to Bridget here her side of the story, and then deal with Erin…and then go and sleep because you look dreadful"

And with that he left leaving her to her meal in peace.

God, between him and Al she had felt more over the last twenty years like a therapist than a cop.

* * *

Jay had just gotten out of work when he saw Roman heading to his car.

"Roman did you see Erin?"

"Went back to her place. Jay" Roman said stopping him as he was about to turn.

"I found Bridget at Molly's the other night. Well me and Kevin did and she told me that Erin was at her Mom's bar doing shots and had left her there"

Jay swore.

"Thanks. Sean…I'm pretty sure Bridget likes you."

And then he was gone at a run.

He knew something was wrong.

He knew.

* * *

Bridget didn't find out until much later that Erin quit. She didn't care to be honest. Instead she was looking at herself in the mirror and wondering if perhaps Bunny Fletcher had been right and Nadia had been killed simply because Nadia had turned that corner and she hadn't.

It was a sobering thought.

And she knew it was going to fester.

For a long time.

* * *

 **And yeah so there it is, let me know what you think.**

 **Next Chapter-Lexi makes a decision that drags Bridget into Erin's mess once again and this time with potentially dangerous consequences. Erin has a wake up call, Jay is bashed and battered, Sean makes a decision and Bridget and Hank have a talk.**


	18. You Say You Want A Revolution

**Hi, so here is the next chapter-I apologise for the lateness but I was struggling with my uni work and between now and when my monster of a dissertation is due in please be aware that updates may be a bit slower.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine but Bridget.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And again in the next few chapters we will be skipping some episodes. Welcome to the first chapter of Season 3!**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 18-You Say You Want A Revolution

Lexi makes a decision that drags Bridget into Erin's mess once again and this time with potentially dangerous consequences. Erin has a wake up call. Jay is bashed and battered, Sean makes a decision and Bridget and Trudy have a talk.

* * *

Bridget was asleep when her phone went off. She swore reaching for it as the cold air hit her. She felt like she was going to throw something. Things in her house had not been the best since Erin had thrown in the towel and gone to live with her mother, tequila and cocaine. Bridget had not spoken to her since that day where Erin had basically implied that she should have died instead of Nadia and she was avoiding the precinct like the plague since her Dad was acting stranger than usual. It was either about Erin but she didn't rule out the fact that he knew that she had a crush on Sean.

Instead she was hiding out in her bedroom like some kind of crazy hermit and pretending like she wasn't both desperate to get out and desperate to stay in all at the same time. It was confusing to say the very least and not for the first time Bridget wished that she had a mom in which to talk it through with.

Anyway that was not important. What was important was Lexi's phone call. Which she would just once again like to say was coming at three in the morning.

"Oh you had better be on the edge of death Lexi because if this is a crank call then so help me…"

"Hello? Is this…yeah this is Bridget right?" And it was a completely unfamiliar male voice.

"Yeah" she said finally sitting up and running a hand through her messy hair.

"Yeah this is Jack from Club 74. There's this underage girl here with some blonde whose been partying all night. Look this Lexi girl needs to come home and when I said that she needed someone she asked me to call you. This isn't club policy to serve underage minors by the way. The bouncer and the bartender are getting sacked I'm pretty sure, and look I've got rent and a cat so therefore if you're underage then please…please come with someone that isn't"

"Where's the blonde?" Bridget asked feeling her temper rise.

"Dancing"

"I'll be there in ten with someone"

She hung up. Her Dad was out of the question because the one place he shouldn't be right now was near Erin and Al would hit the roof and that was the last thing that Lexi was going to need. She didn't know who to ask but then she did and with a sinking heart she called the one person who would help her and yet not get either her, Lexi or Erin in trouble for it.

Damn boy scout.

It rang once.

"Lo?" came the sleepy answer "Officer Roman?"

"Sean it's Bridget, I kinda need your help"

* * *

Sean was going to end up in the canal for this. Bridget was holding back Lexi Olinsky's hair as she threw up on the floor. The bartender winced and Sean didn't blame him. He had no idea what was going on but Lexi was going to feel it in the morning of that he knew intimately. He half a mind to go back in the club and shake Erin upside down for this and then half a mind to get the club closed down because even in a dress that was as red as the anger he was feeling and then he bit his bottom lip to calm himself. Bridget looked at him and then shook her head. She was in jeans and a jumper herself and finally Lexi stood up leaning back against her friend. She looked so drunk that she could barely stand and Sean shook his head once again thanking whatever deity was up there that this bartender had the good sense to find someone that Lexi could go home with when this could have gone the wrong way.

Of course now he was left with two underage girls in Chicago and he had to get them home. He held out his hand for the bartender to shake and promised that if he got the bouncer chucked out then he wouldn't tell anyone. God he had a feeling that, that was going to come back and kick him in the ass.

"Your place?" Bridget asked grinning somewhat. Sean rolled his eyes and wondered again why he took this job. "Are you not angry?" he asked out of curiosity. Bridget turned to look at him and her smile was still the same though her eyes were cold. For the first time he thought that perhaps he could see her father in her.

"Oh I'm furious" she said finally. "I'm freezing as well. But I'm not furious at Lexi, trust me."

Sean wanted to ask what that meant but he was freezing too so he opened the car door and just prayed that Lexi had thrown up most of the booze inside of her so she wouldn't spray his upholstery with vomit after he had just had it cleaned. He resisted the urge to slam his head into the steering wheel.

Somehow, someway, he was going to make sure that Erin paid for this.

Bridget got Lexi showered and then on Sean's couch. Lexi had now gone to full shivering and then Sean dumped a bucket under her head as Lexi pulled more blankets around herself. She sighed leaning back against the chair at the table and taking the glass of water that Sean passed her. There was a pause where sat there sipping and then Sean spoke up.

"It's just booze right? I mean she didn't take anything cause that's a whole other story Bridget and I mean a story where I have to call someone" Bridget watched him and then turned around to cast an eye on Lexi. She turned shaking her head.

"Nah, you don't have Dad's like ours and do drugs"

"But you do drink?"

"Yeah we gotta do something. Anyway, what teenager doesn't drink?"

Sean shrugged. "Look she's gonna have one hell of a hangover and…look you can stay here if you want if you stay with her but Bridget if I'm asked…"

"Yeah I know" Bridget said shaking her head and feeling tiredness beginning to creep in.

"Erin's a mess for letting this happen" Sean said finally. Bridget didn't say anything instead taking another sip of water. She personally thought that Erin was a mess on a good day never mind when her best friend was murdered but thinking about Erin hurt too much. There was another longer pause than before Bridget decided to take a bite on the really uncomfortable bullet.

"Look…I know Jay said something to you. That's why I was avoiding the whole work place but I get it…I do you have a job to think about and all it is, is a silly little crush"

"Bridget" Sean said cutting across her mumbled rambling. "It's not my job or your Dad or even you. Right now…I don't want a relationship. I just changed to this precinct and you met Jen, you know how that relationship ended. It's just not the right time. It's really not you, trust me I like you but…"

"Just not in that way?" Bridget said finally trying to smile rather than cry. This was better than what she expected. It wasn't her. It wasn't her Dad. Actually it was a little bit better to take she thought. She ran a hand through her hair and winced a little as her fingernails caught the knots in her hair.

"I get it" she said finally and to be fair she did. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt less. She finished her water and then dragged a blanket over one of the chairs and curling up under it. Sean watched her for a second longer and then she heard him go to bed. She pretended to be asleep and she did eventually let sleep claim her wiping her fingers under her eyes trying to get rid of the water that had gathered when she thought about why she felt so unspeakably sad.

* * *

Sean had decided to tell Platt because two barely of age girls were at his apartment. Platt had taken it in her stride (swearing and giving Sean a glare that he had a feeling he would be seeing on his deathbed) and then told him that she would handle the situation. Sean had no idea what she meant but he also knew that he didn't want to know either. He shook his head and then turned to go back to work. Halstead had been captured and when a cop went missing all other cops went on high alert.

As he turned around Erin Lindsey walked in. She wasn't looking at him but Sean had, had too long a day and too long a night for the niceties. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the office. She still looked hungover but she looked resolute as well which Sean should have but didn't care about.

"By the way Lexi got home last night. You remember Lexi don't you? The underage girl you got drunk and then left. Well a bartender called Bridget and then Bridget called me. You are damn lucky that kid didn't get herself killed last night and believe me If I'm asked about what the hell happened then I am not gonna lie"

And with that he stalked off.

He didn't see Erin follow up the stairs.

* * *

Trudy knocked sharply on the door. Bridget opened it. She looked tired but she was smiling and she had clearly kicked off her jeans and her boots and for all Trudy knew her underwear. The smile that she gave and then wiped off her face when she saw who it was gave the older woman no doubt who she expected to see. Trudy gritted her teeth. Many things she would do for Hank Voight. One of them was not play matchmaker for his teenage daughter.

"Sean told me. Where's Lexi?" she said.

Bridget pointed towards the couch. Lexi was slumped in a ball under blankets. Her mascara was halfway down her cheeks and her eyes were open. Vomit was in the bowl at her head and she still looked pretty out of it. Trudy sighed and mentally counted to ten in her head.

"Has she eaten?" was all she asked. Bridget sighed. "I made her some eggs and some bacon but she only managed two mouthfuls and Sean is not known for his most impressive food. I mean really could it kill him to go to an organic market. Not that, that's not difficult I mean Dad's a nightmare on a good day when it comes to decent produce but.."

"Bridge your rambling" she said and then she bent down. Lexi groaned and then shut her eyes again. Trudy winced in sympathy because that was a hell of a hangover.

"Erin" she said not looking up. It was not a question and Bridget didn't answer it and that was all Trudy needed to know. She sighed.

"You need to talk to your Dad"

"Trudy"

"Look he knows you bunked off school and he knows that Lexi has done the same so Al is also baying for blood. And there both worried…also Jay Halstead is missing which sent Erin on a tailspin and she confessed. So did Sean by the way and the only reason it's me and not your Dad and Al is because Jay is missing and they sent Erin in to get the bastard"

"Now whose rambling" Bridget said looking resigned. "How pissed is he?" Trudy stared at her for a minute and then decided to go and put the kettle on to make coffee—she tried not to grimace as she took in Lexi's somewhat prone state.

"Well he's annoyed you called up Sean rather than him and Al's furious with Erin but other than that it seems she's going to bare the brunt of this for a while not you"

"Sean turned me down" Bridget said finally playing with the rim of her coffee mug. Trudy sighed and sat down on the chair next to her. In hindsight she thought that was a very smart idea but she didn't say it. The kid looked so woebegone and Trudy remembered what it was like having a crush and you couldn't speak about it to anyone. Except your Mom of course and Camille was gone.

"He said it wasn't me it was him"

Trudy rolled her eyes—honestly could Sean have come up with something better than that?

"It isn't you" she said finally. Bridget snorted and looked down her hair covering her face and Trudy reached out and pulled some of it back so that she could see the other girls face. Her eyes were sparkling with tears. Trudy felt her heart heave a little bit for her.

"It isn't you Bridget." She said firmly. "You are a very pretty girl and only an idiot is not gonna jump at the chance to have you"

There was another pause. There was a second where she didn't speak as she tried to think about what she was saying next. "Bridget" she said finally. "I don't pretend to understand what it is your going through right now. I didn't have that many teenage crushes but I do remember what it's like to grow up and go through the embarrassing stages of life without a mother"

Bridget got very still.

"Look, I'm gonna go and drop Lexi off at Meredith's and then you at your house. You are going to make coffee and then until your Dad is back you and I are going to have a long talk and whenever you want to talk you pick up the phone and call me ok"

Bridget stared at her and then she closed her mouth. Unlike her father she seemed to know when Trudy was saying something that there was no argument to the conversation.

Good.

* * *

Hank got in the house feeling tired…to tired in do anything other than make Erin get out of the car and into his house. He wanted to talk to Bridget alone but he knew that in the mood she was in right now if he didn't walk Erin to his door she'd probably run off.

He opened the door and ushered a still bloodstained Erin inside. Trudy had gone and Bridget was on her laptop. She caught one look at Erin and then looked away turned on her heel and went upstairs without saying another word. Erin sat down on the chair still looking shell shocked and Hank sighed feeling the weight of today coming down on him.

One thing he did know…the next few days were not going to be easy.

* * *

 **So I hope you enjoy and I will hopefully update sooner rather than later.**

 **Next Chapter-The precinct is held hostage. Bridget comes to terms with the concept of forgiveness. Voight realises something about his daughter (after Trudy has a word of wisdom-or several) and the family are made a target. **


	19. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

**Hi, so here is the second chapter, I hope this makes up for the lack of updates previously. As stated before my uni work comes first so please don't be angry if updates take a little bit longer. This next chapter will follow this in terms of episodes and then the one after that will skip several so please keep that in mind as well.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And thank you to all who have read and reviewed so far.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 19-Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

The prescient is held hostage. Bridget comes to terms with the concept of forgiveness. Voight realises something about his daughter (after Trudy has, had a word of wisdom—or several) and the family are made a target by a vengeful ex-criminal.

* * *

Bridget had the week off due in the middle of the month when 'it' happened. She liked to call it 'it' because what else could she call it? But she didn't care because she had a whole week to sleep and forget that Sean and Erin and Bunny fucking Fletcher didn't exist. She re-watched her Harry Potter and Star Wars DVDs, allowed herself a weakness where she re-read all her Twilight books and then went to the hairdressers and had highlights and layers added to her hair that she knew in winter with the weather would make it awful to style but made her right now look really fucking good.

And on the Friday she walked back into the prescient in the morning with her head held high. To be fair there was a reason she was heading in with her plastic box containing the chilli that she made from scratch (based on her Mom's recipe with a little less chilli powder and more mushrooms). Her Dad had been working over the coming weeks so much so she hadn't seen him. She had also not been speaking to Erin. The woman had detoxed on Bridget's bathroom floor and she was still furious with her not just because of the situation with Lexi or for blaming her for Nadia's death but for the situation with Sean which still stung a little.

But as she told herself in the morning she was better than all of that crap and she had nothing to be ashamed off.

She bumped into someone as she came in and the papers that he was holding dropped to the floor.

"Oh god sorry" she said bending. She was in jeans and a yellow jumper and her hair was in a knot on the top of her head. She bent to help him pick up the papers he was holding. The man who was older than she was and looked as if he had aged ten years in a short amount of time started as if he was not used to someone being polite with him. Bridget smiled but felt an…unease that she had not felt in a long time since—her Dad had came home from the hospital that day and told her that all would be ok with her mother.

She shook her head minutely. Now was not the time to dwell on those kind of memories.

"Sorry" she said again holding out some of the papers.

The man shook his head. "Sorry too" he said with a flash of something that could be a smile. "I…err…you heading in?"

"Just to see my Dad" Bridget said smiling.

"Your Dad a detective?"

"Seargent"

"He good at his job?"

"Well he's been so dedicated I'm bringing him his food so yeah"

The man smiled and then held open the door. Bridget came in and then stopped at the stairs for a second dithering as her phone went off. She shoved the container back in her bag for a second to read the message. After two weeks it seemed Lexi had gotten her phone back though how Bridget didn't know. She knew that Meredith had not been pleased with Lexi—actually that was something of an understatement but then again Bridget had not been best pleased with having to get up in the middle of the night either.

However there was a scream that made her look up. It was the same man that she had helped through the door. He now had Mouse in a headlock and a gun to his head. For a second Bridget stared. She was directly in the line of fire but experience and training and the Lord knew enough horror stories over dinner had told her that if she moved she might get shot. So she pressed herself back against the banister of the stairs and tried to remain invisible for as long as humanly possible. Given the amount of guns and the fact that the man seemed to be moving in her general direction she was not sure how she was going to get away with that one.

* * *

Hank had shot down the stairs the second the alarm had sounded. Jay and Adam had been right behind him. For a second he paused on the bottom of the stairs taking the scene in. This was the stuff of nightmares for any cop. Someone coming into their 'house' and taking them all unawares. Mouse seemed to be coping rather well…well he seemed to be relying on training and balls more than anything else which was…something.

But then Hank saw it. A girl in a yellow jumper and jeans with her hair in a knot pressed against the wall directly in the line of fire. For a split second (that seemed to last an eternity) he felt his heart stop. Bridget.

She had not said she was coming but the fact of the matter was since he had brought home Erin nearly a month or so ago his daughter was not saying much to either one of them. She seemed to be taking Erin's very presence as an afront to something not that Hank knew what. He took another step down the stairs until he was on the floor and then he edged silently so he was next to his daughter. She looked white but resolute and Hank resolutely did not let his thoughts dwell on the fact that she looked a lot like his wife when she had been told that she had a tumour that steadily growing.

"Sir" he said carefully as he edged more towards his daughter than he would have liked the man to notice. "Whatever this is we can work it out"

The man shouted something about Iowa and the cops there but Hank was barely noticing. Jay or Adam could pick up the information, his task was to get his daughter behind him before someone noticed that she was there in the first place.

The man kicked his information towards him.

"No" he shouted when Hank made a move towards it. He waved his gun towards Bridget and Hank made a sudden move to dive right in front of her but his brave and utterly reckless daughter had already stepped forwards. God she was so like her mother it was killing him at this moment in time.

"You" he said wildly. "You said your Dad worked here? He any good?"

Bridget shot him a deeply unpleasant look.

"Dude" she said in a matter of fact voice. "He's standing right here. And yeah he's good."

The man shot a look between Hank and Bridget and he seemed to understand that Hank was five seconds away from throwing Bridget behind him.

He nodded towards the bag and with Hank watching him every second Bridget took it. The man took one step behind him and then another. He pointed at Bridget with his gun. "I'm trusting you" he said finally. There was a very pregnant pause. Bridget inclined her head in a moment where Hank didn't have a clue what was going on and then the man kicked the door shut and Mouse and he were gone.

Hank turned to Sean Roman. "Eyes on the door, you get the shot you take it"

Roman nodded and trained his gun on the door. Hank grabbed Bridget by the arm and dragged her up the stairs the bag in her hand Jay following straight after. He dragged her up the stairs and when they were in the corridor passed her the vest that Adam passed him wordlessly.

"Put this on" was all he said propelling Bridget towards his office and forcing himself to not immediately hug her. Bridget put the vest on without a complaint and Hank did up the Velcro with hands neither one of them commented on were shaking. Instead he forced himself to remain calm.

"Justin said he was gonna swing by with the baby" was all she said finally. "And I brought you dinner" she gestured towards her bag on his couch. Hank swallowed down his laugh and pulled her face towards him so he could kiss her on the head.

"Damn you scared me" he said. "You did everything right but you scared me half to death"

"You gonna find his daughter?" Bridget asked finally. Hank swallowed and then shrugged. "If she's missing" was all she said.

Bridget stared at him for a second. "Oh she's missing" was all she said. "You don't take a prescient hostage without knowing if your kid is missing. And really" she said dropping so she was sat on his couch. "What would you do if it was me?"

Hank rolled his eyes and left the room refusing to comment on the fact that if it was Bridget in this girls place he would go to hell and back to get her returned to him regardless of weather or not he was looking at a good long stretch inside.

But still…gun near his daughters head…hard to forgive even if you did emphasise.

And he had to call Justin.

* * *

Erin decided to bite the bullet (so to speak) after she spoke to the girl in the hospital. The hostage crisis was over. Once the father of Sarah had credible proof that his daughter was alive he surrendered without a shot being taken which Erin knew they were lucky to get away with. Instead she forced herself to make amends on her own term. She was not a drug addict but she had been using a bit too much for her own liking and detoxing was the same as it had been when she had been fifteen…not fun…

Jay was sat at his desk watching her out of the corner of his eye. Kevin was sat on the edge of his desk and there was a pause as they both took in the situation where Erin knew they were worried that two women with volatile tempers on a good day were about to square off in front of them.

Anyway she approached Bridget as the other woman (and Bridget was that now she supposed. She was seventeen after all) as she was pulling off his vest.

"Let me help" she said finally pulling the heavy thing of Bridget's back.

Bridget turned to stare at her, her head tilted to the side as she took in Erin's resolute expression. There was a pause where there was silence between the two of them and then Erin opened her mouth to speak but Bridget got there first.

"Did you take the blame for Lexi?"

Erin shot her a look.

"Why do you think she got her phone back?"

Bridget smirked.

"Fair enough. Look…I didn't know that Nadia was going to get killed that day"

"I know" Erin said. "I'm sorry"

Bridget stared at her for a long second and then shrugged.

"Fair enough" was all she said.

The moment was interrupted by Jay who scoffed very loudly.

"Women" was all he said to Kevin Atwater who shook his head as if to agree with him.

"Men" Bridget said in a serious kind of tone and Erin nodded.

And it was as easy as that.

* * *

Hank carefully didn't think about what had taken place today when he got home. Justin was there and his joy at seeing them was infectious. Hank couldn't remember the last time he had gotten a hug off his son and Bridget was almost swept off her feet. Both of his children were unable to separate for the rest of the night and Hank remembered the closeness that had not changed since they were children…he could not remember a time where he had seen them like this.

He walked baby Daniel, Olive and Justin to the car after what was undeniably a good night. He even forgot about Bunny fucking Fletcher and her part in getting Beckett back onto the streets. That was however, until he got to his car and he put his key in the lock to give them a lift back. Justin, Olive and Daniel were on one side, he and Bridget one the other.

And then he heard it.

Decades of training told him what it was and what it would lead to. And it took him a split second to understand what was happening before it was too late.

"Down!" he shouted and weather it was training or instinct Justin mercifully followed his instructions and threw him, his wife and baby to the ground. Hank grabbed Bridget around the waist and threw her to the grass opposite him. She went flying as he covered her with his body at the exact time that the car exploded.

Nobody moved for a second but Hank who looked up to see his car on fire. Bridget next to him was unmoving. Justin didn't say a word.

Could the unthinkable have happened?

Hank stared at the flames for a second. He didn't want to imagine (though he knew) about the reason for this. He turned. Bridget's hair was spread out beneath her. Her eyes were closed. She was not moving. Justin was not speaking.

No…No…No.

 _No…No…No…_

* * *

 **And there you go, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will endeavour to update sooner rather than later with the next chapter.**

 **Next Chapter-As Hank and his family regroup after the bombing the fragile peace between Erin and Bridget might be over before it's begun and Bunny Fletcher gets a visit from Hank Voight's daughter.**


	20. Family Secret

**Hi, so here is another chapter. I hope that you all enjoy and I will hope to update sooner rather than later. Please be aware that there is going to be a gap of about six episodes between this chapter and the next one.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Some violence in this chapter by the way.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 20-Family Secret

As Hank and his family regroup after the bombing, the fragile peace between Erin and Bridget might be over before it starts and Bunny Fletcher get's a visit from Hank Voight's daughter.

* * *

She was aware someone was shouting her name.

Over and over again it was being shouted and she had half a mind to shout that whoever it was should shut the fuck up but the fact of the matter was she couldn't move her mouth. In fact her whole body seemed out of whack. She paused opening her eyes and saw a scene of total devastation appear in front of her.

The entire world seemed to be on fire and it took Bridget a second before she realised that in reality it was Justin's car. She could feel a deep ache in her knee and something sticky near her head and glass shards fell out of her dark hair as she turned her head to the side to get a better look at her surroundings.

Then she felt someone turning her head so that she could see for the first time her father looking down at her and the look on his face was one of complete and utter terror.

"Bridget" was all he said.

Bridget tried to say Dad but she wasn't sure if it had come across alright because she couldn't hear over the crackling of the fire and the roaring in her ears. Instead he pulled her up and then he was dragging her to her feet and around the side of the car where she collapsed back to the grass on the ground her whole body trembling with the aftermath of the explosion.

She felt rather than saw Justin's hand run through her hair removing glass shards but she was too tired and too in shock of what had just happened. She could hear baby Daniel crying which she supposed she should be happy about—at least the baby was alive—but instead all she felt was the sudden urge to close her eyes and lie down and try and pretend that this was not happening. Someone was trying to kill them. Again.

Oh she was going to kill whoever it was behind this—at least if her Dad didn't get there first.

And with that she blacked out.

* * *

When she woke up she was aware of someone watching her and she knew that she was in the hospital again.

Oh this was getting to be embarrassing.

Thankfully it was Justin.

"Hey kiddo" he said grinning when he saw her. The two of them were so in-tune to the crazy that the concept of a car bomb was not something they dwelled upon. After all when your Dad was Hank Voight you got used to the unexpected like it was the ordinary.

"Where is he?" she asked sitting up. Justin snorted his face falling back into the same sort of expression he used to have when he had been living at home. Bridget who had never gotten a chance to say goodbye to her brother because of one of her father's madcap schemes could understand the sentiment.

"Out looking for the bomber. Man by the name of Beckett…something. Got released on a technicality last night. Of course he forgot to tell us" he rolled his eyes.

"Anyway now two people who worked the case with him are dead, someone's selling out information, we nearly all got killed and he's in Rambo mode screaming at anyone and anything that tries to stop him or get in his way."

"How the hell did this guy get realised if he has a history of violence?" Bridget asked but she suspected from the look on her brother's face it probably had something to do with her father when he had err…shaded the truth a bit in his career.

"Bunny Fletcher" was all Justin needed to say. Being the same age as Erin when she had crashed into their lives he knew intimately what damage that woman was. Bridget swore and leaned back on her pillows.

"What the fuck did that woman do now?"

"Got pissed off Erin choose Dad instead of her I suppose. Heaven forbid a mother wants her daughter not to be a drugged out depressed mess but there you go. Anyway she told the cops and then Beckett's lawyers that Dad was with her that night—you know saving her and Erin from the boyfriend with the sawn off shotgun but there you are. Course Dad lied and said on the stand that he was there the whole time the arrest went down—because God knows Al couldn't do that and now we nearly all get killed"

When he finished his voice was dripping with sarcasm. Bridget stared at him feeling her teeth on edge.

"Where's Olive?"

"Took Daniel back to the hotel. She's fine, he's fine, I said I'd wait with you. You collapsed due to exhaustion. I have to admit even I had to lie down for a little while. Dad practically ran back to the office."

"Yeah well he's always ran towards something to do rather than sit on his ass. Remember when Mom was sick? He was doing about twenty things at once right until the end"

There was a long pause where he stood up and she stared at him silently. If discussing their Mom was painful for her then it was nothing compared to what it was for Justin.

"You got my clothes?" she asked finally. Justin pointed to a bag. "Erin came by and brought some things. Your clothes were half removed and anyway they stink of smoke and were covered in ash. Anyway…you want me to check you out AMA—cause I'm pretty sure that's gonna get both of us yelled at"

"Yeah" Bridget said knowing what she wanted and that Justin would be the one person who would let her do it. After all, he did owe her one for that whole accessory to murder thing that he had embroiled her in.

"I need to go and do something. Something I should have done a very long time ago"

* * *

Bunny had gone out to take the trash out and for a smoke. The ally where she did it was generally quite so if her smokes were laced with a little green herb then…well nobody knew.

She had her back turned when it happened.

Somebody grabbed her and slammed her back against the wall her head smacking off the brick. There was a pause where she tried to snatch back her breath but before she could someone had hit her so hard across the face her teeth rattled.

She pushed back naturally but whoever it was had her back up against the wall and one arm wrapped around her throat before she could move. Then she got a good look at her attacker.

Bridget Voight.

"You nearly got my baby nephew blown up" she whispered and there was something manic about her voice that Bunny didn't like at all. She wasn't yelling like Hank had done or Erin, she was soft and silent and that was a far more deadly cry. Bunny tried to speak but Bridget tightened her grip.

"You nearly killed my entire family for what? You didn't like the fact that your daughter hates you? Well let me tell you Bunny, if you come near anyone I care about again, I will bury you in the canal. And you know where I come from. So don't doubt that I can do that"

And with a look of disgust she threw Bunny back to the floor gasping as if she was something dismissive on the end of her shoe.

Bunny looked up just as Bridget spat in her face. Wiping it away she snarled.

"Your dead Bridget! Bet Hank will love arresting you. Both of his kids in prison!"

Bridget laughed and the sound was pure mocking.

"Oh Bunny you deranged bitch. You think anyone is gonna believe I attacked you?"

And then she walked away still laughing into the darkness.

The sound seemed to last for hours.

* * *

"Hank" Trudy said as he was coming down the stairs. "Look…Bunny Fletcher rang me. I hung up on her after saying…a few…well some rude words but she's pretty strong in her story. Claims Bridget attacked her outside the bar."

Hank blinked.

"She got proof?" he asked finally trying to not sound as proud as he felt.

"No. There's no security at that bar remember. Look you and I both know Bridget checked herself out of hospital. You better make sure she's got an alibi"

"Trudy she might not have done it" Hank pointed out. "Does Bridget look like she can attack someone?"

"When people are pushed to the limit they can do things that they can never expect." Trudy said wisely.

Hank sighed feeling tired. "Is Bunny gonna be a problem?" he asked finally.

"Hank two ex-cops are dead because that woman got the man released. You nearly got blown up, a baby nearly got blown up. Everyone in the brass knew Beckett was guilty. And everyone knows exactly what type of woman Bunny is—hell she's been in every precinct in Chicago has probably ran into her. And well…Bridget doesn't exactly look like a manic attacker does she? Like you said. She might not have done it. Or you know…she might have a damn good alibi" She finished this sentence with a look that told Hank to get home. Trudy had always had that ability to say a thousand words with one look after all.

There was a long pause where she stood there. Hank got the impression she was still watching him as he left.

* * *

Bridget didn't look up as her Dad came into the house. Erin was behind him her expression one of confusion. Bridget was under the impression that Erin was supposed to be moving out but the fact of the matter was that she was still tired. And now they were down one car to boot.

"So Bunny thinks you attacked her" Erin said finally into the silence. Olive was upstairs with the baby and for that Bridget was happy because she was highly doubted that her new sister in law actually understood what it meant to be a part of this insane family that she had married into.

Instead she paused looking up. Justin was reading on his news app and she got the distinct impression that he was also watching her. She ignored him.

"She does, does she?" she said finally. "Of course. Woman has to have someone to blame. Probably some punter who got pissed at her for supplying cocaine." She shot a look at Erin. "I suppose that was what she was selling you that time?"

Erin shot her a look but thankfully didn't press the issue. Her Dad sat down next to her.

"You did check yourself out AMA" he said quietly.

"Ah she was with me all afternoon. Didn't want to wait around to see if you got the guy. Don't blame her, we both wanted to get the smell of smoke out of our hair" said Justin his eyes still on his phone screen. Bridget smiled benignly. Her father shot one look between the two of them and then apparently decided that whatever had happened this afternoon he didn't want to know.

Bridget turned back to her book still smiling to herself.

Olive and Daniel choose that moment to come down the stairs and while Erin and her Dad were cooing over the baby like a pair of doves she shot a look at her brother. He winked at her and she grinned back.

She had reasoned that he did owe her one and she had been right at the time. She had once been in the car waiting. It had not hurt Justin to do the same thing.

She remembered however what she had said to her Dad however, and she still meant it. There was a line Bridget didn't cross that her Dad had done so previously. But for the first time in her life she thought she understood the desire to cross that line and the sight of it as something she had welcomed rather than repelled.

It was a sobering thought.

But that didn't change anything for her. She could see the line. But she had no desire to cross it. And she knew her Dad didn't either.

* * *

(Of course Bridget had no idea that her little family would be shattered so in the upcoming months but that…that is a story for another time.)

* * *

 **And there you go, I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Next Chapter-An incident at Chicago Med sees Bridget and Hank on a crash course with the most painful memory of their life. Bridget is utterly confused and then heartbroken and then confused again. Erin and Bridget row as Hank in his desperation asks Bridget to do something she has never even contemplated doing.**


	21. Terminal Leave

**Hi, so here is another chapter. I apologise for the lateness of this but revision is still ongoing and there is still going to be a gap between this chapter and the next one but I should be able to get back to normal.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing in this chapter is mine.**

 **This entire chapter was a massive emotional uploading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. To day this is one of the better episodes of Chicago PD that I have ever watched so I did enjoy writing this chapter.**

 **Please read and review and let me know what you think.**

 **There has been some jumping around the episodes and so there is a gap. Next chapter will follow this one but it might be a bit shorter than others.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 21-Terminal Leave

An incident at Chicago Med sees Hank and Bridget on a collision course with the most painful memories of their lives. Bridget is utterly confused and then heartbroken and then conflicted again. Hank in his desperation asks his daughter to do something she has never contemplated doing—that might cause a rift between them that cannot be easily fixed and Kevin finds himself in a big brother role that he really wasn't sure that he wanted. Some jumping between episodes.

* * *

The funny thing (or the not so funny thing depending on how you looked at it) was that she had not seen it coming. Neither had her father and in the days afterwards she had clung to that with all that she had. Neither one of them had seen this coming and that was something. But when it had come it had come with a bang and at a point in her life when Bridget had gotten used to it. The pain had gone, the harshness of it had not lessoned over time but the initial gut wrenching pain had disappeared a long time ago.

For her Dad she suspected that it was not the same thing. For him she suspected (more so after his year in prison) that there were days when the pain was so fresh it felt like it had all happened yesterday. She never spoke to Justin about it. She could never even try to speak to Erin about it either.

Her mother was something tangible some days but on others was as solid as a puff of smoke. Bridget had seen what her mother had become at the end, wasted away from the Chemo and the drugs and the disease that she had battled time and time again. At the end she had gotten sick of the damn thing and she had refused to go to that Doctor's office. She didn't need to see that needle wrapped around her mother's arm like some sort of snake. She didn't need to see the smile dim and the eyes go blank and keep her head down when her Dad came back from the hospital and Justin had to make them breakfast and Erin did her hair.

There was a pause where she stood there taking all of those memories in as she stood in the middle of her living room. Al…the closest that she had to an Uncle of sorts and certainly the closest thing her Dad had to a brother. He had been the one who had knocked on the door as Bridget had kicked off her boots free from school for a gloriously long week, he had been the one who had told her what his case was about and what it entailed and what it would mean and he was the one who right now was watching her with an expression that told Bridget he was quite prepared for rage and fury, for tears and shouting and pain because he had seen it all before.

It had been Al that night with her Dad, it had been her on her own on the step and Erin and Justin together, but she remembered watching as Al took her father outside after he had broken the news to them saying that he needed a walk.

Certain things she knew she would remember forever.

She forced herself to take a deep breath and crossed the length of the downstairs room from the kitchen back to Al twice before she felt like she was under control of her emotions at least to hear the rest of the story.

"Go on" she said through slightly gritted teeth. Her hands were on her hips but it wasn't the picture of a woman in control. Her fingers were gripping into the flesh at the side of her hips and she trying to stop herself crying out and she forced herself to confirm even to herself that she was not going to cry. There was a pause and then she turned to Al again.

"The Doctor…Reybold? I don't remember him"

Al shot her a look that told her that he had known that. She had been seven at the time and therefore the names and the faces had blurred together. She could hardly remember something as insignificant as the Doctor when her memories had been centred on trying to remember her Mom's smile and what her arms had felt like when they had wrapped around Bridget in a hug.

Those things had been the important things that she remembered.

"He's the last one…he was the last one"

Bridget didn't dignify that with a response and Al didn't press her for one. Somethings neither one of them wanted to speak about ever again. That last Doctor's appointment was one of them.

"So he's err…he's been feeding women chemo despite the fact they've not had cancer?" she said feeling sick to her stomach over the whole sordid affair. Al nodded his mouth twisting a little. Bridget nodded a little feeling horribly sick.

There was a pause where she stood there. She opened her mouth to ask what she was suddenly desperate to know and then she clamped it shut again—somethings needed to remain unsaid. She was not going to say what she was thinking—thinking about it was too painful, if she was right in this moment casting a thought on it was beyond anything she had ever imagined.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked finally.

"We want to get…well…your Dad wants to get Reybold on murder"

"Murder? How—" She wanted to ask how the hell that was going to work but then Bridget remembered that this was her father they were talking about. Things were personal with him—this was her mother and his wife—personal was not really the right word for how this one was going to make him feel.

Quite frankly she was kinda surprised that the Doctor wasn't buried in a shallow grave at the docks already and she knew that promises or no promises, if he got off from whatever charge was thrown at him she would not give a cent for his life in the aftermath.

That thought made her feel sick as well.

"Go on" she said finally even though all she wanted was to scream at Al to stop talking and go away and give Bridget a chance to process this.

Al paused for a second and then from somewhere deep down inside him he found the courage to look Bridget in the eye and ask her the one thing she had been dreading since the start of this conversation.

"Did you ever see him do anything dangerous? Ever see him with a needle that looked funny? Ever see him with a patient…I know you were young Bridget but he's been doing this for a long time and I need to know…because I think you might have to testify if Hank gets his way on this"

"He wont make me testify" she said finally ignoring his question.

"He will if he thinks this is the only way to get this bastard" Al said quietly. "He's half possessed here Bridget, It's like…well it's like how it was then, he's quiet and dangerous and Erin's all fired up and the squad doesn't know what to say or do. Getting him on murder's not going to be easy and…and I know you think he wont ask you to lie or speak about that time but I'm telling you now some DA will and it will be with his blessing. I don't think he's seeing anything but putting this bastard behind bars"

Bridget took in what Al was telling her. Her father was at his most dangerous right now and there was nothing she could do to stop it, hell she might be caught up in the crossfire and then everything that she and he had worked through since he had come out of prison was shot to shit.

"I need to think about it" she said finally.

Al took that as his cue to leave and mercifully didn't press for more.

* * *

They were all sat in stony silence the occasional tapping of keyboards breaking the moment when Erin who had been staring at the opposite wall with an intensity that could have killed someone said into the open space.

"We need to get someone who saw Reybold stick a needle in someone and not know if it was chemo right?"

"Yeah" Jay said back forcing the silence to break and shooting a look at the closed door of his boss.

"What about Bridget?"

The room sharpened somewhat.

"I don't think that's a good idea" Kevin said rather tactfully. Jay shot a look at Adam and knew they were both thinking the same thing. Never mind a good idea that was suicide right now from both their bosses perspective and never mind what Bridget would do to them.

"Erin" Jay said when It appeared nobody else was going to speak. "I don't think asking Bridget to relive the worst day of her life is something she's gonna want to do. I mean how old was she? Seven, eight? I mean she must have been kept away from the worst of it and if she's put on the stand…"

He trailed off catching Adam's eye and both of them acknowledging what an angry and hurt Bridget would do to their case if forced to concede enough. Voight on the stand was bad enough and Erin had a bad enough temper to make the whole thing worse.

"She was eleven" Erin said finally. "And I bet she saw more than she's let on. I was bad…Justin was worse…Bridget didn't let it faze her in the slightest"

Jay opened his mouth to protest what he knew to be an untruth. Will had not let it faze him—or at least what Jay had seen and only now did Jay know how untrue that was. Bridget he knew was probably just a hell of a lot stronger than anyone in her family knew or gave her credit for.

Erin didn't say anything else but instead turned to stare back at the wall. Jay who had a sneaking suspicion about what that meant suddenly felt compelled to speak up even if it was just to avoid any conversation that took him back to his mother who he remembered had died of cancer.

If he had been in the situation Voight was in…

It didn't even bare thinking about.

* * *

It was like someone had died again. There was a silence strained at the dinner table. His daughter looked like she had aged ten years in the last day and she didn't look at him at all. He had told her about the deal that the DA had given Reybold and she had nodded as if it was something that she had been expecting and then she had sat down and prodded at her meal clearly thinking hard about something else…anything else or trying to not think about the dead woman in the room.

He was also trying not to go down that route but the idea that Erin had planted in his brain was struggling to detach itself. Hank wasn't sure however if he really wanted to bring it up. For Bridget and for himself.

"Do you want Justin to know? About this case?" Bridget asked her tone still detached and her eyes on the wall.

"No" Hank said. If Justin ever got wind of this he would go AWOL in a heartbeat. Hank doesn't need that on top of everything else as well.

"Bridget" he asks finally. "I need to ask you something"

Bridget turned to him and her expression was almost identical to that look Camille had given him when she had finally put together the pieces over the ninety grand that was currently resting behind the wall in his safe.

"Ok" she said finally.

"You remember Doctor Reybold?"

"I already told Al that I didn't"

Hank acknowledged that Al had warned his daughter before he'd had a chance. If it had been Meredith then he supposed he would have told Lexi.

"The DA thinks that if someone saw him inject someone with chemo then the case could move to manslaughter."

"Please tell me—"Bridget cut across him her voice shaking with rage. "That this is not where you bring up Mom. Because if you think that I am going to sit back and watch you lie about that for a conviction…"

"They don't want me on the stand" Hank said quietly.

"Erin then—"

"No not Erin, I'm not asking Erin"

Bridget stared at him and her expression was so dreadful Hank had to look away from her.

"You cannot be serious" she said flatly. "You told me that night I could come and talk to you when I was ready. I' m not ready now, not even anywhere near ready to deal with that night and what it cost me and now you want me to go on the stand and lie about it? You want me to lie? For what a conviction?"

"So you never saw Reybold inject your mother or any other woman with Chemo?" he asked. Bridget stared at him her mouth open slightly and Hank pressed his advantage hating himself for it all the while.

"Do you remember after the funeral?" she asked.

Hank blinked. Of everything that he had been expecting to say after that it was not bringing up a memory that was so raw he didn't even try to think about it. He did remember it however, he did remember driving them all home, Erin, Justin, Bridget and pushing Al away. Erin and Justin in their room and he not going up there because he had known that all three of them were hitting the booze that night and that knowing Erin there was a chance that there was something (cocaine if he remembered Erin's preference back then) upstairs as well. Bridget however had been the one who he had ignored and then found asleep in his wife's closet when he drunkenly opened it.

He had found his daughter tucked up amongst his wife's coat her head resting on another coat and tear tracks on her face. She had still been in her black dress and her shoes were neatly stacked next to her mother's black Jimmy Choo's that he had bought Camille and she had complained that she had, had nowhere to go that would be good enough to wear them. He had tucked her into bed and then passed out somewhere between the chair in Bridget's room and the bed and had been more ashamed of himself than he could say—especially considering that he had thrown up somewhere during the night in his seven year old's toilet listening to her sleep, Erin crying and Justin's music that never seemed to stop playing.

"I remember" he said finally.

Bridget shot him a look.

"No you don't" she said flatly. "But I do. I remember waking up in Mom's closet and you tucking me into bed. You asked as I was getting changed if I wanted to talk about anything, you asked me that a lot even before she died and I always kept saying no. And I'm still saying no Dad. I don't want to talk about Mom"

Hank felt his teeth ache with a combination of grief and rage. He didn't remember this (at least not the funeral bit) but he did acknowledge that it was something that he would say.

"Bridge" he said finally. "Do you think I want to drag this up again? Do you think I want to sit there and ask you this? I don't sweetheart I don't. But I am asking you. I'm asking you to help me but this man behind bars."

"By lying?"

"I…Bridge if I thought I could do this myself then I would. But the reality is I don't think anyone is going to want me on that stand not even our own side. Anything I say, anything Erin says and this shark he has defending him will rise and defect and their easiest method to defect is you."

Bridget didn't flicker. Had the situation not been as serious as it was now Hank would have been proud. The problem was he didn't feel proud—he felt sick and tired and drained.

"I will not do it" she said simply. "You said I didn't have to talk about it until I was ready. And I'm not. I hope one day I will be but right now I don't even want to think about it"

She stood up and walked away then and Hank, left at the dining room table acknowledged that she had not flat out denied that she had saw Reybold and she had not admitted it either.

* * *

He was completely unsurprised to see Bridget Voight outside the courtroom. She was dressed in a pair of old blue jeans and a red jumper and she had the look of a woman who a bitter combination of utterly defeated and utterly determined. It was a strange and yet beautiful combination and he couldn't help but admire her for it.

Kevin had turned up like the rest of the squad. Voight was taking the stand and he was going to talk about the most painful memory of his life and Kevin like the rest of his team would not let their boss go through it alone.

"Hey" he said sliding next to Bridget.

Bridget stared at him and Kevin was reminded suddenly that she was a young girl only a couple of years older than Vanessa and yet she seemed so much older. If there was anything that Kevin could do in this world or in the next then he was going to ensure that his baby sister never looked like that.

"Erin wants me to lie"

Kevin paused. The truth was Erin did want Bridget to lie. And he could see why. He couldn't deny that she had a reason for it but he couldn't blame Bridget for looking horrified at the same time. There was a pause where they stood there in complete silence. Kevin eventually spoke.

"What are you going to do?" he asked finally.

Bridget shrugged.

"Erin has a mom." She said quietly. There was nothing more that she could say to that and there was nothing more that he could say. Bunny Fletcher might be a right piece of work and that was saying something, but he had to admit that he could see where Bridget was coming from. Good or bad or terrible—weather you wanted them or not, weather or not you valued someone else more—you only had one Mom. And Bunny Fletcher despite her faults (and they were many) was still alive, and was still Erin's biological mother. Which was more than what Bridget had.

At that moment the doors to the courtroom opened and the Defence Attorney came out. She took one look at Bridget sat there and Bridget turned to stare at her for a second before she let out a hollow laugh and dropped her hands into her head. Kevin stood up trying to stand between the two of them but he knew there was no point. It was the easiest thing to do really wasn't it? Once Voight had gone on the stand the easiest thing to contradict him was his daughter and Kevin couldn't do a damn thing to stop the woman holding out that blue paper.

Bridget took it and read it with a detached expression. "They want me on the stand" was all she said standing up and reaching for her jacket.

"What are you going to do?" Kevin asked.

Bridget shrugged and walked away before Kevin could tell her that the ADA would want to talk to her, or that her father was coming out of the courtroom and someone would have to tell him that his daughter was the one person who could sink this case for him and probably get both Voight or herself arrested in the process.

"Bridget?" she turned around to see Jay watching her. "Court's back in session" he said almost apologetically. "And they want you"

She had been sat on the bench outside watching the people go by and as she stood up she was aware that Jay was watching her. He flashed her a small smile.

"Not going to tell me what to do?" she challenged.

"If I thought it would make any difference—I lost—" he began as if the memory was painful to him. Bridget cut across him. She didn't want to hear anyone's sob stories today of all days.

"I don't want to hear it" she said. "At least you've got more sense than the rest of them"

Jay gave her a small smile.

* * *

Hank was watching her from the gallery. She was still tall, still holding herself upright as she had done at the funeral and she still sat down with that little sweep like she had done at the church. Bridget was watching Reybold with an expression he couldn't name. As if she was deciding something.

"Miss Voight, we've heard testimony from your father that your mother was in Doctor Reybold's care at the end of her life. My condolences by the way. Were you ever in his office?"

That was an easy one. Hank had took her there when she had wanted to be with her Mom many times. He had gone to work and come back and found them in the big chair, needles wrapped around his wife like snakes while she and his daughter were doing homework or reading together and Camille had looked at Bridget as if trying to drink in every inch of her.

"Yes I was in his office"

"You saw him administer drugs?"

"Yes"

Again that was probably true.

"Your father has provided testimony that he saw Doctor Reybold administer an chemo drug that your mother didn't need, do you know this to be true?"

Fuck.

Bridget did something he didn't expect.

She ran a hand through her hair and leaned back on her chair her eyes closed. From where he was sitting Hank could see her expression. Her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, the smudge of eyeliner and the exhausted expression on her face. She was reliving it he knew, she was reliving this moment, that moment—all of the pain and the heartbreak.

She looked decades older in that moment and Hank wondered if he should have pushed her to talk about it more.

 _She had been fine_ the voice in his head reminded him.

And she had been fine. She had gotten up after the funeral and had gone to school the day after. She had taken over cooking seamlessly badgering Meredith to teach her how to cook and Meredith had thinking it was the easiest thing she could do. She had become closer to Lexi—at a time when Erin and Justin had both been going off the rails and he was in the midst of his own grief Bridget had cleaned up after them all—at the age of eleven she had cooked for them and had (and he was more ashamed of this than he wanted to admit) cleaned him up after a bad night. She had never mentioned the increase of scotch bottles or the blood or the bruises but he had known that there were nights where she had slept on the couch wondering if he was coming home.

The final straw as far as that was concerned was when he had been called in by her teacher who had told him in no uncertain terms that Bridget had been falling asleep in classes and that something had to be done.

Al nudged him then pulling him out of his memories and he realised that the judge was now forcing Bridget to answer. Hank hoped above everything else that his daughter was not going to get out of this by getting herself a contempt citation because that was the last thing anyone including her needed.

"Dad didn't see him inject Mom no" she said flatly.

Hank took a deep breath, ignored the looks of concern his team were showing him and tried to pretend that he hadn't just been punched in the solar plexus.

"So your father was lying?"

God did that woman have to sound so triumphant?

"Yes"

Bridget looked down at her hands then and then when she spoke it was with an expression that could have melted ice.

"I did"

That stopped the woman in her tracts. That stopped the judge in his tracks, certainly it stopped Hank in his tracts.

"You did what?"

"I saw him inject Mom with the chemo she didn't need. I saw it. Dad was lying for me. He didn't want me to relive it all but I saw it. He didn't know I was there because I gone to the bathroom. It had been…well near the end and when I came back I saw it. I didn't tell anyone until the other night when I told Dad"

Ok that was a barefaced lie but…problem was Hank didn't know if the rest of it was. He had gone on the stand to ensure that this animal had gone away for good for the harm he had caused to the innocent woman and the two they were sure he had murdered. But he had never even considered the possibility Camille had been one of the victims because he had…well…he had seen the death certificate. He had demanded an autopsy and he had been the one who had only been able to sleep that night knowing that all along it had been out of his hands.

Now he felt sick.

There were a few more questions and then his daughter was done. They had not pressed for details once they had gotten that damning statement. The defence had asked once why she had not come forwards then but Bridget had pointed out that she had been eleven and most of the medical knowledge had gone over her head.

He had wanted to speak to his daughter but she had not come out of the gallery. A desperate look had Adam standing up and excusing himself but he came back in to whisper that she had gotten into a cab and gone home claiming that she had told him that she didn't want to see the verdict.

Funnily enough the guilty verdict hadn't been as satisfying as he had once believed it could be.

He nodded at Jay who seemed to understand that Erin was his responsibility and then went home after his daughter. She was a creature of habit. He had a feeling that he knew where she had gone too.

He was right she had gone home.

And he had been right to think that like the last time she was sat in the closet.

Somethings had changed. Camille's stuff was gone and Bridget's legs were too long for the door to shut so he could see her. The wine and the glass were an addition as well but Hank sat down next to her and pretended (because she was his daughter after all) that he had not seen the tear tracks that were etched across her face—cold and dry. She had been suffering silently for a long time.

"Guilty?" she asked once.

"Yeah"

She didn't say anything.

"Did you lie?" he asked. He had to know. "Did you lie Bridget because if what you said was true then…" oh god it was unbearable.

"Did you?"

"Yes" he said not even bothering to hide it. "Yes I did. Did you?"

Finally she turned to look at him in the face. It was still that unreadable mask for a second and then just as he was about to demand she tell him she shook her head and he could breathe again.

"Yes. I lied."

He closed his eyes for a second and then opened them again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"Mom…Mom…she did…she did have cancer didn't she? She did…it wasn't some other lunatic poisoning her she did…" it came out in a rush even as it trailed off and Hank realised with a sickening lurch what had really been bothering her that day he had asked her to talk him through the last time she had seen her mother pumped full of drugs.

"Oh god yes. Bridget yes she was sick from the beginning. I was there with her at the first appointment. Reybold was recommended to us by a friend. He was the last doctor but the cancer was real and it was what killed her in the end"

Bridget nodded and then leaned her head on his shoulder. Bridget like Justin had never been the most receptive child. There had been too much hard raising in his house for emotions to be freely expressed. It was not something he indulged in all that often. He had not been surprised when it was clear his children didn't either. But at this moment in time he had no illusion with pulling his daughter close to him and trying to blink away the tears. Hank was not a man to be overcome by a sentimental moment but god knows he missed his wife sometimes like it was yesterday and not six years.

"I miss Mom" was all Bridget said.

"I know kiddo. I miss her too"

"You think we can just sit here for a bit?"

"Yeah. We can sit here for as long as you want"

And each of them locked in their own painful memories over a woman that they had both loved, for a long time that was just what they did.

* * *

 **So there it is. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will try and update sooner rather than later.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget, Hank and Erin deal with the fallout of the Reybold case. Erin becomes embroiled in a case where a fourteen year old is raped and Hank worries about his daughter. Shorter chapter.**


	22. Till The Day I Die

**Hi, so here is another chapter, this one and the next one will be a bit shorter but this was a nice little follow up chapter to the big one i posted previously. There might be a gap due to posting due to exams but i will try and get the next chapter up as soon as i can.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just Bridget.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And let me know what you think.**

 **Also there is a mention in this chapter about the rape of an underage minor-if this triggers you then please stop reading here.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 22-Till The Day I Die

Bridget, Erin and Hank deal with the fallout of the Reybold cancer case. Erin becomes emotionally invested in the outcome of an investigation in which a fourteen year old is raped and Hank worries about his daughter in the process and Jay tries to help but doesn't know how. Shorter chapter.

* * *

The days after the cancer case as Bridget had taken to calling it in her head had been awkward so much so that Bridget had taken to spending the weekend out of the house and nights at the library claiming that she wanted to get ahead of the mountain of work that had come with the new school year.

Her Dad had not pressured her into staying and Bridget suspected that there were reasons behind that. Her father had buried her mother and she knew in the years since buried his feelings over the whole thing. Of course there had been the months afterwards, there had been the fights he had gotten into, the times Al or Trudy had brought him home from bars, there had been the beer bottles she had thrown away, the cocaine she, Bridget had took out of Justin's room and flushed down the toilet because she couldn't stand the idea of another fight, there had been the sleepless nights where she had grieved in private and the time where she had fallen asleep in school.

It had never ended. It had only ended when she had come home from school one day to see her Dad there. Apparently he had been called into school because she had kept falling asleep. Justin and Erin had been so far off the rails at that point there was nothing that either one of them could do and Erin had pulled herself back after the debacle with Charlie. Even Justin had stopped eventually—or at least dialled it down. And she had been the one who had to explain to her father that she was grieving. She was the one he had watched and considering that had ended up with Justin going completely off the rails she still thought it was rather unfair.

So she was in no hurry to go through that again. She knew he'd be watching her especially because she knew he still wanted confirmation that she had lied on the stand. Bridget didn't want to see him or talk to him about it because she felt like a hypocrite especially after all that she had told her Dad when Antonio had been shot the year before.

But she reasoned to herself, she had not killed anyone.

But still, she couldn't help but feel like she had exposed herself in some way. She had not intended to talk about her mother's death, about seeing the chemo go in and the hair loss and the aching agony that she had been through ever again. She didn't want to think about that because Bridget had always rationalised that the one lesson she had learnt about that entire situation was that life was precious and should be lived to the fullest.

And that was what she was going to do.

At least…that was what she told herself.

The case following Reybold had not made life easy for her at home either. It had involved a home invasion that had used gas and (as far as Bridget could get out of everyone and anyone) had left a fourteen year old girl waking up with blood between her legs. She had been raped and Erin took it seriously so much so she was now at the house again despite the fact that she had moved out long ago.

And that was another reason why Bridget wanted to stay away. It wasn't that she didn't like Erin, Erin despite all the crazy shit that she pulled was her sister—the girl who was always there even if it meant leaving an active investigation to come to school and help out Bridget when she had broke down sobbing in the toilet because she was on her period and didn't have anything with her. She loved Erin despite everything but she couldn't deny that Erin was exhausting to be around. She felt like screaming whenever she was with the woman because Erin was despite everything the genetic offspring of Bunny Fletcher. Erin would ask weather or not what she said at the trail was true and then Erin would press on the wound until it bleed enough answers in which she could be happy. Bridget did not want to go through all of that again and she most certainly did not want what she said told to her Dad, to Jay Halstead and then God only knows who in the aftermath.

Those memories with her mother were her own and while Erin could make claim to them Camille Voight had not been Erin's mother. Camille Voight had been Bridget's mother and a part of Bridget also felt annoyed when she saw Erin because Erin had a mother even if she was a hideous drunk and an idiot too boot—Bridget did not even have that. It was a lifetime of things missed out on and she was not going to share her grief with anyone who didn't understand that and Erin didn't.

Instead she decided to focus on the words of the book that she was reading though it was getting to the point where she couldn't read even one page without thinking of her mother and the man that had tried to help in the last few months that was now doing serious time behind bars.

The days that followed were long and ongoing and she slept in most of the days, hide in her room and tried not to think. If there was one thing in the world that Bridget wanted to do most of all it was not think right now. She didn't want to think about the case this one or the one that had followed. She didn't want to think of fourteen year olds waking up with their underwear removed and having no idea how it had happened. She didn't want to think of her mother covered in tubes that dripped poison into her veins and how she had pretended to Bridget that all was ok. She didn't want to think about anything at all.

And yet somehow, someway, her brain didn't shut off.

Bridget decided staring at the ceiling of her bedroom one night that her brain was annoying when it was like this. She didn't want to talk about it—she was not wrong in saying that she wasn't ready to open the Pandora's Box that was her emotions when her mother left. She wasn't ready to delve deep into that pain again and she wasn't ready to talk about it.

Maybe someday. But someday was not today.

And so she rolled over and tried in vain to get some sleep.

* * *

Voight was furious. Jay could tell. He had all but forced Erin into the ambulance to go to the hospital and Jay had thought it best to drive leaving Al with the suspects. He drove as quickly as he could trying to keep him and his boss alive only to be rewarded with a glare and a snide comment that consisted off—"You used to drive in a warzone you can't put your foot down a bit more?" Which Jay thought was distinctly unfair.

They arrived at the hospital. While he was worried—and he was—Jay also acknowledged that Erin was tough and mostly unhurt—at least not in the way that she could have been if he and the rest of the team hadn't got there sooner.

"Do you want me to call Bridget?" he asked casually as Voight stormed off to terrorise some nurses probably.

Voight stared at him for a second, Jay privately hoped this wasn't leading to some deep confession. He and his boss worked well when they weren't having heart to hearts and he knew feelings were raw over the case they had previously worked. He suspected that, that was why they had been seeing less and less of the girl since she had been forced to recount her mother's last days in the middle of a public courtroom and in front of her father which he knew (from experience) would have just been pain upon pain.

"Sure. But let her know that there's no need for her to come down here" Voight said silently watching Jay in that creepy way that Voight did it and Jay nodded turning his back on the man who had given him his job and his badge back after more than one occasion where he had been in danger of losing it. Personally he thought that he would give Bridget thirty minutes before she managed to get to the hospital to make sure that she was not in the process of losing another person in her life that she had grown irrevocably close to.

He was out by six minutes.

But not much.

* * *

"What happened?" Bridget asked storming in running a hand through her hair. Jay was watching her from the hard hospital chairs and Bridget shared a thought to the fact that when they were redoing the hospital in the aftermath of the bombing and then the train crash they had not bothered to spend much money on the refurbishment of comfortable chairs. She shook her head to rid herself of thoughts that she didn't need. Already her head was cluttered with thoughts that seemed to spiral on their own without warning, she didn't need another one taking up the very limited room that was there.

"Nothing" Jay said, he caught the look on her face and then elaborated looking somewhat sheepish as he caught the expression on her face which Bridget knew was not going to be very friendly. Despite their differences—and there had been many—the simple fact of the matter was that Erin was Bridget's sister. It had been Erin who had helped her at her lowest and it had been Erin that had taken Bridget in without so much as a shadow of a doubt or a moment's hesitation when a twist of fate (and a good deal of superiority on certain people's part) had seen her fatherless and brother-less at the age of fifteen.

"Ok she's shaken up but she's physically fine" Jay amended. "Look she wasn't—"he seemed to shake his head as if he thought that the images could leave his head via force and Bridget watched him wearily.

"Look" he said finally. "Erin's fine. Your Dad's fine. I don't think he even wanted me to call you not really. Not after—"

"Not after I got on a stand and told everyone in front of witnesses what it had been like to watch my mother die and the role that Doctor Jekyll played in it?" Bridget deadpanned.

Jay moved his mouth around then and she got the impression that he was trying very hard not to smirk. She could understand—Bridget had been told that Jay had a somewhat strange sense of humour and her usual teenage sarcasm was generally lost on most people except her father who she suspected had become immune to it somewhere along the line.

"Are you ok?" he asked finally. "I mean…after everything…?"

There was a beat as she took a seat. Jay sat next to her.

"No" she said finally compelled to be honest with him.

"I figured" Jay said finally. "I wasn't after my Mom died of cancer"

There was a beat as she took that in. She didn't look at him. Bridget didn't look at anyone the situation was far too raw. She swallowed forcing her jaw to work over the lump that was rapidly developing in her throat and if he noticed her blinking a little bit too hard then he didn't say anything.

They sat there in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes and then she spoke again once she was sure that she had her voice under control.

"I don't want to talk about it. I never planned to talk about it."

Jay nodded his eyes on the opposite wall.

"Yeah I didn't plan to talk about it either, still don't. Sometimes silence is best. Or at least I think so"

Bridget didn't say anything. Once again she didn't think she could.

Once again Jay didn't comment on it.

"Thanks" she said finally though she didn't know what she was thanking him. There was a pause as they both sat there waiting for her Dad and Erin to come out of the hospital room in which they were no doubt arguing about treatment and weather or not that Erin should get it.

She didn't know what to him, and he didn't try and press her. And when her Dad and Erin did eventually come out of the room it was to see the two of them waiting there in (this time) a comfortable silence.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-Hank helps a friend out in a bad situation, Erin and Bridget finally have a conversation about Camille and Bridget finally begins to let go of her past.**

 **And there you have it-I hope you enjoyed this. **


	23. The Friendship Game

**Hi, so here is another chapter and there should be another one following this depending on how my exams go. When this is published there will be no more exams just work so therefore that should make it easier to update.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this chapter-and yes this is short but the next one will be a bit longer and back to a main storyline.**

 **Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 23-The Friendship Game

Hank helps a friend out of a bad situation, Jay and Bridget have another conversation about Erin and everything in between, and Bridget finally begins to let go of the painful parts of her past and move forwards towards her future.

* * *

Bridget successfully avoided the precinct for the rest of the week. She decided that she didn't want to analyse why she was avoiding the place but she couldn't help but think about it. And more to the point It was screwing up her day to day life. She tried not to think about why she was avoiding the place, the people in it—well one person really—longer than she had too.

Bridget didn't know why it had been so awkward to talk to Erin about the events that had seen her called to the stand that day. She had buried that grief and that humiliation that had come with it when she had gotten on the stand and told everyone the truth or certainly what she was going to continue to promote as the truth. What those days had been like she was going to keep to herself for the foreseeable future.

But that still didn't explain the issues with Erin. Bridget supposed that it might have had something to do with the fact that Erin had been in the room, in the house—in a strange position. She had been family but not blood. She had been Bridget's friend and her sister and during those days she had braided her hair and gotten her dressed for school and made her eggs just the way she liked it but Erin had never been Justin who despite everything would have walked through hell to keep Bridget from seeing the truth about how the sixth attempt at chemo was going to end.

But as horrible as it was Erin was not blood. She was not a Voight in the same way Justin was—for all of Bunny's faults—and God knew intimately that there were a great many of them, Erin had a mother who was still alive. Granted there was no sane way this world could work right when Camille Voight had died before Bunny Fletcher had met her end but Bridget was past the anger and the pain—it had all gone into a hole in her chest which was a dull numbing ache that she knew she would just have to live with.

The problem she knew was that Erin felt the same and Bridget could feel her teeth automatically set on edge when she thought about it. Erin had not lost what she had lost. Erin still had something to fall back on or at least that was how Bridget saw it and she wasn't sure she could stand to sit with Erin and talk about the lifetime that she had lost that Erin had and chose (and she would admit those reasons were valid) and had discarded.

There was another long heartbeat and then she turned over on her side. Her face was wet and she wiped her face on the bedcovers and she wished she could fall asleep. She did eventually but she woke up tired and sleep deprived and miserable more than she had done before.

And that was before Jay Halstead knocked on her door one afternoon when she was attempting to work her way through exam revision.

"Sorry about this but he wants you at the station. Some issue with a friend of his from prison and his family with a death contract out. Voight thinks that it's better to ask for your forgiveness rather than your permission on this one."

Bridget snarled.

To his credit Jay Halstead didn't blink. Instead he grinned. Bridget allowed herself a second to acknowledged that Erin was lucky—they were really some dimples on that face and his chest in his black T-Shirt was showing all of his hard muscle. Bridget who did not see Jay Halstead in any way whatsoever had to admit that she could appreciate why Erin was willing to risk the wrath of her Dad when it came to sleeping with this man in all his well toned glory. It was annoying really—nice body and nice personality—and he was all Erin's.

Not that Bridget was interested in him whatsoever…these were just…musings…so to speak when she had a minute or two alone and wanted to drown out—other—dangerous thoughts that didn't need time to fester.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked finally.

"Well" Jay Halstead said grinning and showing his dimples in a way that would make half of the girls in Bridget's class go into transports of delight.

"You have a choice—free will and all that—but I don't fancy being on your Dad's bad side for the rest of my career in Intelligence—you see I rather like it. So can you please come with me? If you want we can go grab coffee on the way?"

Ugh he really was good looking Bridget thought. And she really wanted coffee.

"Fine but I want a muffin as well" she said. After all it was better to go along with this rather than to sit there and get three phone calls an hour from a man who she was not in a mood to talk too and who would only get increasingly more angry as time went by and the case ultimately did not go his way.

Eventually they grabbed coffee. Jay shot her a look when she ordered her non fat, non sugar vanilla latte with something that looked like disgust. Apparently he was a fan of the good old black coffee with three sugars—he shrugged when Bridget shot him a look and muttered something about how it kept the dead away which Bridget took to be something to do with his army past and which she didn't pry about because she really didn't want to know. She was not Jay's girlfriend and there was nothing she could say to make it better.

They rode to the precinct in silence all the while Bridget plotted over weather or not to yell at her Dad for interfering or not. She didn't want to see Erin, she didn't want to talk about all of the emotions that were swirling around inside of her and she didn't want to go on thinking about her mother. She was happy the way she had been before—when her mother's death had been one of those things where she had grieved but not had to relive that grief. Damn that fucking ADA for making her rethink this. She hadn't want anything to do with this.

"Erin misses you" Jay said into the silence as Bridget turned to him.

"Oh?"

"Yeah she says you haven't been by much since the case with your Mom. And you don't want to talk to her about it. I think she wants to talk to you"

And suddenly just like that the dam exploded and Bridget felt the fury begin to build inside of her.

"I don't want to talk to her" she said finally. "She already has a mom she can do to. It's not the same…and you know it" she said finally as she remembered the conversation she had, had the last time it had been her and Jay alone.

"I know" Jay said finally. "But…if you let feelings like that consume you then you let them drown you. Trust me I know. I know and I know the damage it does not only too you but also to the people around you. You've met my brother. He ran for the hills, I ran for the hills and neither one of us can carry a conversation with our father that manages to remain polite for more than ten minutes. Trust me that's not something you want. Looking back I know Will and I would have done a lot of things differently. And our Dad wasn't as half as involved as yours is with you"

"You mean interfering?"

Jay laughed.

"Yeah I suppose that's what it called. Not just you, you know. He does it with everyone in his unit. Tells us not to lie to him so he can lie for us. He's good—I don't see eye to eye with him still—in the beginning I thought he was as crooked as hell—I mean you and I know he probably still is especially with this helping out his friend from Rikers but…he was a cop in Gen-Pop. Quite frankly I'm amazed that you didn't come out of that an orphan."

Bridget who actually didn't know about that frowned and took a swig out of her coffee cup.

"It's nice to have secrets" she said finally. The barely contained distain that she knew she would always feel for the Dawson siblings grew a little bit more. Jay noticed that too but didn't comment on it. They arrived at the doors of the prescient and Bridget had to admit that the conversation had been good—and that she probably should cut Erin some slack.

As if he was reading her mind Jay continued.

"Look come over tonight. I've got steak and Erin knows how to get it just right…I promise. And if you play nice I wont get all cop like when I turn my back and Erin's making her vodka tonic." He shuddered and then grinned. "I've seen soldiers that wouldn't be able to take more than three of those demon drinks"

And Bridget couldn't help but laugh…it felt good to laugh…it felt really good to laugh.

* * *

When Hank came back from the operation, from the death and the exhaustion that was pulling at him—that had nothing to do with the fact that once again he was forced to relive upsetting memories—not to mention the fact that he had spent an hour wrangling with the brass over cash they were not going to let out of their hands easily, it was too see his daughter sat on the couch in his office. He paused and then winced. He'd forgotten that in his moment of aftershocks (seeing that kid covered in blood) he had sent Jay round to pick up his daughter who was usually not happy with the situation. In fact her exact words the last time he had done this was to never do it again or she would move out.

Bridget however didn't look too upset, she didn't look like she was about to snap at him like she had done in all those weeks beforehand since the trial. There was a pause where he stood there.

"I'm going to Erin's tonight" Bridget said finally.

She sounded a hell of a lot more normal than she had done in the weeks since they had sat in that courtroom. There was a pause where he took her in.

"You seem a lot calmer" he said finally.

Bridget didn't look up from her book.

"I've had time to think. I don't want to think anymore. I want get on with it. I've had a long time to grieve. I don't want to do it anymore—at least not unless I have too. It's too much…" she trailed off looking out of the window suddenly and then she forced herself to look back at her book. Hank looked away too—that case had dragged up a long moment of pain for him too,

"Ok" he said lamely.

Bridget but down her book. "It's not ok, none of it's ok. But…it's liveable at the end of the day don't you think?"

Hank thought about it.

"Yeah I guess so"

There was another long heartbeat of pause.

"I'm sorry about your friend. The one who protected you in prison"

Hank didn't want to know how she had found out about that.

"I know"

She seemed to grasp that he didn't want to talk about it. God she was so like her mother in that way.

So Bridget stood up and jerked her head to the doorway.

"Come on Dad. Let's go home for a bit"

Yeah Hank thought standing up. Home sounded good.

It wasn't the end of the pain or the end of the memories but it was like putting them back into the box. Opening them again was your own choice. It didn't change anything.

His family was slowly getting back to normal.

And nothing could ever blow it apart again.

* * *

 **And there you are. Let me know what you think.**

 **Next Chapter-** **In which a serial killer escapes from prison. Bridget getting really sick of the fact that once again she is placed under some form of House Arrest, and a serial killer stalks Chicago all the way from New York City. **


	24. The Song Of Bridget Camille Voight

**Hi, so hopefully the next chapter will be a bit longer as this is rather on the short side and a bit more descriptive than I would have liked however there are reasons for this. I have been under immense stress what with both exams and results and I am also building towards the climax of this season which as we all know changes Voight's life forever. Hopefully the next chapter will come a lot sooner as well.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 24-The Song of Bridget Camille Voight

In which a serial killer escapes from prison. Bridget is getting really sick of the fact that once again she is placed under some form of House Arrest and a serial killer stalks Chicago all the way from New York City. AU on certain events in the episode and some of the summary has changed.

* * *

The phone went off in the middle of the night. It had been a good night because Hank had fallen asleep in his own bed at a reasonable hour and he was not drunk. He groped around for a second and may have said something less than polite when he answered the phone. The voice however was not what he expected and that had him sitting up in the middle of his bed, panic running through him to the degree that he was nearly dizzy. He swore. It was Olivia Benson—and Olivia Benson did not ring in the middle of the night without bad news being afoot.

Of course once he got the whole story out of her (other than the fact that his detectives were safe and so were hers) that he might have missed—due to going home early—he found that he was struggling to get out of bed and find where his shoes had ended up before he was forced to hang up and calm down. There was nothing that he could do when it came to the case—not right now at two in the morning—even if Yates was coming back and he was.

At least that was what the rational side of his brain was saying—the side that sounded exactly like his wife would at this exact moment in time—right down to the voice and the raised eyebrow.

The side of him that had seen the way Yates had leered over Nadia's body, had seen Erin fall apart and had had nightmares about how Nadia's broken remains could have been his daughters who had come within an inch of getting killed that night instead was such that he found himself out of bed within a second, gun loaded and padding the familiar tread to his daughters room and hoping against some strange hope that he would not find out tonight if he was the father of a teenage girl who routinely snuck out of her room in the middle of the night to go and do stupid teenage stuff.

But Bridget was asleep. Her head was turned to the side and her legs were folding underneath her. In an effort to maintain her sleeping in in the morning and not wake up early to work on her hair, the mounds of dark waves were pushed to one side of the bed so that they rested against the opposite pillow and Hank could just about see the top of the old and ratty grey Dartmouth T-Shirt that he knew had once been his wife's. He acknowledged the stab of guilt that he had been feeling since that damn trial—he had never really noticed Bridget take it even though it must have been at least twenty years old. He wondered sometimes if she had worn it when she had been eleven simply because it had smelled like his wife and had ignored the fact that it had gone down to her knees but he had, had his forth beer simply to chase away that thought.

There was a pause as Hank took in what he was about to destroy for the…well…in more times than he would care to count and then he reached over and shook the lump beneath the covers.

Actually it took her a long time to wake up and when one eye (and how she did that he didn't know) popped open it was with an expression that told him that he was probably going to have to ask for forgiveness (for a long time to boot) rather than asking permission in this exact moment.

"What happened?" she asked watching him as if he was some sort of exploding bomb that was spreading chaos in her ordinary world. There was another pause and then he spoke again he found himself hating the very words that he was speaking.

"You remember Grey Yates?"

"That supposed to be a trick question?"

"He's escaped from his New York prison. Benson is pretty sure that he's coming here. He shot one of her men Mike—he's alive thank god but he left Erin a note telling her that he was coming here and so were on our highest guard and he likes brunettes and he knows what you look and like and what I will do to him if I can get a chance so therefore I want you to come to the station with me"

Bridget watched him again for an unnerving second and then she shook her head. "How long has he been on the way to Chicago?"

"About an hour or so give or take Olivia's information" he said honestly. Lying to Bridget was difficult. He supposed it was a combination of how much she looked like his wife and how much he loved her.

"Ok. Then you can go and let me get—" she squinted at the clock. "Four more hours sleep"

And with that she turned over and buried herself under the covers.

Hank blinked. And then he snapped.

"Get out of bed now!"

Bridget looked at him for a long second and Hank knew that she was trying to keep her temper under control. He stared back willing himself to do the same thing himself. If there was something even more cataclysmic that a murderer stalking his city it was him losing his daughter to that very same murderer.

There was a pause where he stood there.

"Bridget" he said finally in a tone that was surprisingly calm considering the way he was feeling inside. "This is not some request. I want you to come with me and if you don't I'm gonna ground you until the end of time and before you even say it Al's already got his brunette daughter coming to the station with him so you wont be alone. And don't even think about calling Justin cause you know he's gonna take my side when he finds out that an escaped rapist and murderer has come to New York cause we both know he's gonna tell you to get your ass down to the station—cause it's you and there's nothing more important than you right now"

Bridget let out such a string of swear words that Hank felt somewhat impressed. He really did despite the fact that he supposed he should be stopping his daughter from using that kind of language. Instead he watched as Bridget stared into the dark for a second and then threw back her covers.

"You need to stop at a Starbucks" was all she said. "I'm going to need a very large Vanilla Latte—and maybe a burger or something incredibly fattening because this…this is ridiculous. And I'm brining my laptop and my nail varnish…and I want one beat cop to be both mine and Lexi's coffee runner because this is unfair. And don't think I'm getting dressed up for this either." She added as a threat.

Hank considered what the detour would cost him and concluded that wasn't that much in the end. If it kept Bridget safe then it was worth it.

* * *

Bridget and Lexi were sat in his office when Kim Burgess came up the stairs her face looking puzzled and more than a little strained. It was the look that a lot of cops had and there was a very good chance that she would look like that until the damn bastard had been caught. Hank understood the feeling only too well.

"Eh Sarge?" she said looking like she was walking to the gallows.

"There's a package downstairs. It's addressed to Bridget"

There was a pause as Hank and Bridget who had been sat in the corner both looked up. Bridget's expression was one of confusion and Hank knew that his own was filled with a fear that he couldn't explain but he knew without a shadow of a doubt. A package addressed to his daughter when Greg Yates had already put some woman in hospital and had kidnapped another was the worst thing imaginable.

"Call Bomb Squad" he said tersely and then he clicked his fingers. For once Bridget listened to him and she stood up fumbling with the clasp on her bag. Lexi stood up too looking like she was going to be sick. Bridget however was staring at him however. She wasn't afraid—or certainly she didn't look afraid like anyone sane would have done. Instead she looked resolute as if she half expected Hank to tell her to go out for a sit down with Yates.

Which was not happening.

He reached out and grabbed Bridget by the arm and dragged her down the stairs and outside. Bridget shot him a look but perhaps the expression on his face was so frightening that she didn't argue with him for once. The entire congregation of cops were outside all surrounding the station. Erin reached them within seconds, Lexi at her side and the four of them watched in silence until they were told that the package was clear.

"I'll open it" Bridget said quietly. "It's addressed to me. I should open it. If I was at home I'd open it"

There was nothing he could say to that kind of logic. If it had been a bomb they'd have found it by now and he was pretty sure that Yates had chosen his daughter for a reason. It could have been addressed to anyone but he had known that Bridget would be with him and that set his teeth on edge.

Bridget opened it in silence and used the edge of her thumb to peel pack one side of the carboard and then she swore jumping backwards and crushing Mouse's toe with her boot. Mouse howled and hopped around for a bit clutching Jay's arm but Hank ignored him. Bridget had taken at least three steps back and was half in the arms of Kevin before he could get a look at what was in the box.

It was a hand a phone.

Ugh.

"That is sick" Lexi said from where she was standing looking extremely pale. "That is so sick seriously. What was the point of that?" She shook her head and Hank agreed with her. He just hoped that Olivia's team would get a decent lead sooner rather than later because if he was being honest with himself he wasn't sure how much longer Erin would sit on the side lines and wait for Nadia's killer to make his presence known with his now all too familiar signature.

He was coming for one of his daughters. The question was which one, Erin or Bridget. Actually it didn't really matter. Hank was going to kill him before that either way.

* * *

Erin had been mostly silent on the car ride home. The killing of Grey Yates was not something she was going to give Bridget a play by play account of and Bridget was find with that. All she knew was that one minute Erin was there in the office banging around and looking inches away from grabbing her gun and then the next minute she and Mouse were in her Dad's office and then she was running away down the steps and Bridget and Lexi who were both still sat there wishing away their time and trying not to imagine what was happening could do nothing but watch and wait and wonder what was going on.

But throughout that whole day Bridget had come to a decision—she was not doing this again—she would rather take her chances alone and uncaring of what was going on—looking at the news and yet not understanding it, than this waiting game that she had been forced to endure many times. In all honesty she was not sure her nerves could withstand it. Greg Yates had been caught after a day but in reality there had been a very good chance the almost siege like conditions could have continued.

Yeah. Arguments, rows whatever, Bridget was not doing this again. She could shoot, she could fight and she knew what not to do in a hostage situation. She was not going to hide upstairs like some little girl—she was going to get on with her life because if she didn't then they had won and quite frankly she refused to give anyone the right to take away her hard-earned and not exactly pain free life.

There was a pause where she sat there in the car. Her Dad's knuckles were tight on the wheel and Erin had a rather dazed look in her eyes. There was no point in brining this up tonight. Chances are it would only start a row that neither of them wanted and she that frankly Bridget didn't want to start. She'd wait until things were a bit calmer at home rather than bring this up now. She tapped her nails against the upholstery. Yes that was what she would do. And perhaps a situation like this would not happen again for a long time.

Oh who was she kidding?

Of course this was going to happen again. It would never stop. The wheel of this would never stop and yet the only way she could stop it was if she got off the damn thing before it turned and crushed her.

Bridget chose to also make a mental note that she would have to delete Game of Thrones off the series link as well because she was now comparing her life to metaphors taken off the show and that was a whole other concept.

Anyhow she turned and watched out the window and wished for nothing more than her own bed and the desire to be away from the people who loved her, who she loved and yet still thought that the only way to keep her safe was to tell her about the horrors that were going on inside the minds of men like Greg Yates.

* * *

 **And there you are let me know what you think.**

 **I will try and update a bit sooner.**

 **Next Chapter-Intelligence investigate the murder at a woman's shelter. Hank and Bridget's relationship is strained somewhat and Justin calls home with some news.**


	25. When The Saints Go Marching In

**Hi, so here is another chapter. I am thrilled I am able to get it too you in a few days rather than a few weeks and therefore I hope you enjoy. Again this chapter doesn't have a lot of action but there is action to come and loads in the Season 4 arc. There are only four more chapters left of the Season 3 arc.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine and any opinions stressed in this chapter are my own.**

 **Please Read and Review and any inaccuracies I do apologise for.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 25-When The Saints Go Marching In.

Intelligence investigates a murder at a battered woman's shelter. Hank and Bridget's relationship is strained somewhat and Justin calls home with some news.

* * *

There had been some sort of fissure in his relationship with his daughter. Hank could see that in the following days to come. It was hard to put his finger upon it but he couldn't help but see it. It wasn't like she was mad at him. Bridget was too much like her mother and Camille had been a fan of both the silent treatment and the disdainful glances that could have put a man underground at ten paces. Bridget had always inherited her mother's charm when it came to that. But this was different. There was a coolness but he was sure it was not because of something he did. The fact of the matter was the only thing he had done was get her out of bed in the morning and then not let her open the box from the serial killer was something he couldn't understand—surely that was perfectly understandable?

But as the days went by the relationship between him and his daughter soured somewhat. Bridget was still in so many ways the same but she stopped coming to the precinct and after a week or so of her not turning up after school he began to realise how much he missed her impromptu visits often with coffee (the good kind) and on more than one occasion some sort of food. He didn't know what had been the cause of this and he had thought of asking Erin but Bridget wasn't really talking to anyone.

He decided he would give it another week—after all Bridget could just be in a mood—with his daughter it wouldn't be the first time after all. And even he knew teenage girls got into moods for no reason whatsoever—Erin had proven that one before her first year under his roof was out, and then he would talk to her.

In the meantime his case load was added one day when he and his team got called to what looked a store where armed hostiles were supposed to have been seen. It was clear (as was most things about his job) that there was something else taking place in this store. At the back was a door leading to some stairs and once up the stairs you got three rooms and four terrified woman.

And Hank knew immediately what was going on.

Underground methods of smuggling battered women and their children away from their spouses and over state lines in some cases was one of those grey areas that nearly every cop had to deal with—in some cases it was a matter of survival verses the law which included on more that one occasion theft and kidnapping—especially if custody was involved. Either way he knew where he stood on the issue and therefore he didn't mention anything about taking information—his team could take what was strictly necessary and no more.

Clearly it looked like whoever had shot the other woman had gotten the woman that he wanted.

And God help her if the amount of domestic violence cases he had seen over the course of his career were anything to go by.

He moved to the side to let a girl leaning heavily on Kim get in the car. Her face was still showing the signs of a black eye and she was trembling from head to foot but it was her age that caught Hank's attention—girl couldn't have been much older than Bridget. She looked like she was going to vomit as well. And that could be Bridget he supposed—wrong boy—it had been a concern he had to admit when he was in prison, one of the many that had concerned his daughter.

There was another beat and then he turned away resisting the urge to call Bridget. She was in school and anyway what could he say? There was nothing that he could say that would make Bridget understand the all encompassing fear he had for her sometimes. Hell he could barely make sense of it himself. He supposed that she would understand when she became a parent herself—Justin did after all—but the last thing he wanted was that to happen before Bridget was out of High School, or College, or even Grad School.

In hindsight it was a good thing that he had that ninety grand hidden in his safe, chances are that would wipe him out.

"Are you still there?" Erin said to the left of him shooting him a look that said she worried in more ways than one for his sanity and he nodded. There was a case to solve.

He could worry about his daughter later.

* * *

Bridget was on the phone when he came in. It was a rare thing. Bridget's only friend was really Lexi though Hank knew that Lexie and by association Bridget become close to Vanessa Atwater and Eva Dawson who both seemed to think the older girls spoke gold when it came to make up tips and what not so it could be either one of them—either way he hoped that she wasn't going to be on the phone all night. Bridget and Lexi had had that period before he went to prison where they both conversed with the other for at least three hours each night and that only stopped when Al begged him claiming he could no longer afford his phone bill.

She was laughing and giggling when he came in and he did have a moment of madness where he thought that perhaps she was talking to another boy. He knew (though he might not like the idea very much) that his daughter was attractive—she had taken her mother's looks and had over time become as beautiful if not more. She also had a sort of iron will that made her seem like stone but underneath it she was still a seventeen year old girl with a seventeen year old girl's vulnerability.

Bridget hung up and came into the kitchen. She was wearing jeans that slung rather low on her hips and a jumper that had seen better days.

"You don't wear those jeans in public do you?"

He received an eye roll for what he felt was his very justified parental concern there.

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Justin. I did ask if he wanted to speak to you but he got called away. Anyway he says he's coming home in about three weeks right before Daniel's birthday so I thought we could do like a mini celebration or something. I know your gonna be working but he's got like three weeks leave so…I mean school ends in a couple of weeks and then I was thinking if my finals are good can I go back with him and Olive for a bit…I mean it's only a couple of states away"

"It's Texas"

"I know"

Hank sighed feeling older than he knew he was. He didn't even want to imagine the trouble that his headstrong, beautiful, opinionated daughter could get into in another state and with nothing and nobody but Justin to keep her in check. Never mind she'd be spending a week on an Army Base.

"Look you do owe me one for that whole dragging me out of bed at three in the morning. You said you'd stop that. You said you were going to keep your work separate from here—and you said that you'd stopped all the other things as well—you know The Docks and all that but I don't think you have. So instead of me asking outright I thought this might be a good compromise"

And she fixed him with a long stare that was so reminiscent of his wife that he wondered for a second if she was channelling some sort of spirit. He shook his head and downed his drink, he had to be back at the office in the morning as there was still a shooter running around Chicago and possibly a drugs ring running out of a bar and that required his full attention.

He thought that this might be one of those hard moments with Bridget that Camille had told him about when she had known (months before he had done) that the end was coming nearer and nearer for her. She had told him that their daughter was going to want things, and need things and not for the first time he wanted her here with him as he looked at her daughter and thought about what he was going to do when it was clear that she wanted to move on with her life—and when he wasn't sure if he was ready for her to.

And again without violation he thought of that girl who had leaned on Kim with half her face smashed in who had done nothing to provoke whoever it was that had done it and had no family or friends to turn to.

"I'll think about it. If your exam results are good and if Justin can promise me that he can look after you. And so help me if I go on the eight o' clock news and find you being arrested for a fight or a brawl or some kind of protest then heaven help you" he compromised.

Bridget grinned at him and for a second, for a brief second that seemed to expand into more seconds and minutes and hours as time went by Hank thought that perhaps he had earnt some form of reprieve from all of the pain that he had suffered in his life previously.

"I have to go. I only stopped for a coffee. Look I'm gonna be working late so…we found a battered woman's shelter and one of them has been abducted and I have to go and oversee the investigation. I sent most of the team home but…there's a drug dealer I want to keep an eye on."

He didn't know why he was telling her this, he never liked bringing his work home with him but he had to admit that it felt good to tell Bridget because Bridget nine times out of ten had no idea what the hell was going on and could do nothing to stop it. Again it was a quality she inherited from her mother—even if he never planned to speak to Camille about work he always did because he knew she would just let him get it out of his system.

Bridget watched him with a expression that he could read and then opened the fridge.

"Good thing I bother to look after you isn't it" she said with an exasperation that Hank felt he hadn't earned just yet. He noticed what she was holding out for him. It looked like the leftovers of Bridget's own meal and it was noodles with something that looked like beef and mushroom. If his daughter had cooked it chances are it would be rammed with chilli but it was certainly better than raiding the vending machine in desperation for food or ordering pizza and getting the raised eyebrow from said daughter who when doing their shopping spent two dollars more or so on eggs because they were organic and lectured him about eating nitrate free food.

"Thanks" he said finally. "Can you lock up the house?"

Bridget didn't even regard that sentence with a reply. She'd had her own keys since she was seven after all.

There was another long pause where Hank tried to think of the words to say. He tried to distance himself from the job he was going back to doing and the girl in front of him who had at some point unknown to him become a woman.

"See ya kiddo" he said finally and he had smiled at Bridget's "See ya later Dad"

As he shut the door he felt a sharp pain somewhere inside him that had nothing to do with the fact that he was going back to a case where there was no good ending but everything to do with the fact that he had just come to the realisation that the passage of time that would see his last baby was all grown up and would leave him one day had begun and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

* * *

 **Again anything about Justin and his army service or army leave is my own as it is not mentioned on the show so therefore I do apologise if it was wrong.**

 **And I hope to update again sooner rather than later. Please let me know what you think.**

 **Next Chapter-Hank once again deals with a case where he can see his own daughter in the victim. Lexi surprises Bridget with her ideas with Senior year much to the worry of Al and Bridget sees Sean spend a moment with Kim.**


	26. The Things We Get To Say

**Hi, so here is another chapter, there are three more left of the Season 3 arc and then we move onto Season 4 which is the longest and the last arc of this story so I hope you all enjoy. This is a little bit of a filler chapter like the others but things are put in place that will lead to the Season finale which as we all know was a good one.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this chapter and Bridget.**

 **Some underage drinking.**

 **Also I know ages are a bit screwed around in this but I did some changes. Lexi and Bridget are in Senior year when they discuss moving out into the warehouse and after re-watching all of those episodes I noted that there was nothing about ages it was 'young people' living there so...**

 **And I hope you all enjoy, please read and review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 26-The Things We Get To Say

Hank once again deals with a case where he can see his own daughter in the victim. Lexi surprises Bridget with her ideas for Senior Year much to the worry of Al and Bridget sees Sean spend a moment with Kim.

* * *

One of the issues that he was facing—an issue that for some reason would not go away was that he could see Bridget in some victims. There had been the girl in the domestic violence shelter, the girls that were brunette and beautiful and full of life whose own lives had been snuffed out by the whim of Greg Yates and now there was this…this…

This was a prostitute by the name of Ruby that Kim and Erin had found curled up in some dark cellar in her underwear blood dripping from her arm from where she'd carved her name in. She was also pregnant which was just another kick in the teeth and to add to the ever increasing reasons why Hank wanted fifteen minutes alone with the guy who was responsible for this crime.

The finding of Maddison the wife who was really a victim was just the icing on top of the cake that was this perfect day.

They had redoubled their search to find another missing girl and Erin had taken another failed shot at Jamie-Lynn who was still refusing to believe she'd been brainwashed by a powerful man when she was just a confused and scared teenager. What had made her so special Hank wasn't sure but he was pretty sure that consciously she had not known what was going on. Weather or not deep down she had seen or suspected what her husband was capable off he didn't know nor did he want to know but he knew that if they were lucky and they got through to her the foundations that Jamie-Lynn had built her life on were going to come crashing down around her pretty harshly, when Al knocked on his door.

"Anything?"

"Nah nothing" his friend replied. Hank sighed. He had not been holding out much hope on this one ending with a happy ending. Al dithered on the doorway and then as if something painful was being extracted out of him he shut the door and sat down.

"Has Bridget spoken to you about Senior Year?"

"Should she have?"

"Well…Lexi's got some ideas. Seems to think she's moving out"

Hank blinked.

"Bet Meredith loved the idea of that"

"Well it's been on her mind ever since she found out about my…well…you know my other kid and she's found a place kinda cheep in some abandoned building that some guy converted into apartments where you know they can do art on the walls and drugs probably in the basement and she says she's gotten a unit with a bathroom problem is as Meredith told me she has to share a bathroom. I think from what I overheard and pieced together she's going to ask Bridget"

Hank took that in for a second.

Bridget and Lexi living together?

Oh hell no.

"Well that's not happening. Anyway how is Lexi going to afford this?"

"Oh she's got the cash. Didn't tell that to me until I asked. Apparently the rents dead cheep and she's got money. Of course that means that Bridget's probably got money too she's not told you about." He fixed Hank with a suddenly stern gaze.

"I suppose you haven't checked if Bridget's been in your safe have you? Did you even tell her the combination?"

The answer to that was yes, he had told Bridget once and he had not bothered to change it because in the event that Bridget was ever on her own it would help if she could get into the damn thing. Now of course all sorts of thoughts were going to fester.

A knock on the door interrupted him. It was Kevin. Hank tried to change the direction of his thoughts. There was a missing girl who needed him. And there was nothing that would make Bridget move out. After all she loved him and if she moved out then there was the simple fact that he would starve to death within the month—and she knew that.

* * *

Bridget hadn't meant to see it. In fact she had not meant to be there at all. Was it her fault that the two were on patrol outside the coffee shop she stopped at on the way home from school? Was it really? Had she not been so shook up about what she had seen she would have wondered if them being there was just a coincidence or her father being overprotective again but she didn't because all she could see was Kim Burgess lean over and snog Sean Roman in broad daylight in the middle of the street.

Her first instinct was to throw her latte at the car and give them both a start. Her second instinct was to throw something that would make the glass shatter. Thankfully Lexie was right behind her. She took the sight in with a raised eyebrow and a slow sip of her white hot chocolate and then took hold of one elbow and dragged Bridget away before she could do either of those things.

"Come on" she said as they walked down the street. "Mom's still at work and I know where she keeps the wine. I need to run something by you as well."

Bridget was still too shocked to say anything but she followed Lexie through the chattering people that littered the street going on with their ordinary lives.

"I mean it's not like we were ever together" Bridget said after her second glass of wine. She was lying on Lexie's bed watching the stars on the ceiling twinkle. She sat up with effort and extended her mug. Lexie poured some more wine in and then tipped a generous measure in for herself.

"Sean can kiss anyone he wants I suppose. I mean the attraction just kinda fell apart you know?"

Lexi nodded sagely.

"I don't think she's that pretty" she said in a stab of solidarity and Bridget snorted moving to look at herself in the mirror.

"She's perfect. I'm not."

"Your incredibly good looking. I mean do you know how many boys were flirting with you at that party at the house last year? Your problem Bridge is that you don't get out there more. And Uncle Hank doesn't help. Even if you did get a boyfriend that got past the rigorous background checks, the interrogations, the surveillance and was actually not poisoned at dinner or shot at or what not, you know something would come up eventually and Uncle Hank would have him shipped off to Siberia. Which reminds me, I have a remedy to all that. You know how we enter our last year of High School in a month or so…well I'm moving out"

Bridget inhaled a mouthful of wine.

"Your what?" she said finally.

"I'm moving out. I spoke to Jason…you remember Jason Collins in Math? His older brother rents rooms out in that house we went to the party where you got on so well with the bloke who loved poetry and books and all that…anyway he has two rooms free for a fee of like a hundred bucks deposit which I have and I know you do as well. Should be fun, apparently there's a load of kids our age there, college, High School all of them, seems like fun."

"In Senior year? Shouldn't we be like studying?",

"Oh come on we both have pretty good averages, you managed to work through living with Erin and we both know that's no mean feat. And were nearer to the library here. Besides we can go home nearer exams if that's easier. It's not like it's a party house all the time. It's a just a place where any creative soul can go and get lost…on cheep rent"

"And freeze to death in winter no doubt…how much wine have you had? No way is Uncle Al gonna let you do this"

"I turn eighteen in September. I can do whatever I want then."

"Oh great. I just have to stagger through another two months then."

"Justin moved out"

"Justin went to prison Lex, funnily enough not one of my life goals"

"I get it. But…but why don't you think about it. You and me living together, picking out colleges together, getting drunk together, this way you can lose your virginity without the worry of Uncle Hank next door with one eye open and a hand on his shotgun."

"Funny. Pass me the wine"

Bridget took another sip of wine contemplating. What Lexie had said was true. She did have access to money—and not just the ninety grand that she knew the combination too. Her mom had, had finances too. Justin had been quick to piss his all away but Bridget's was in a trust until she turned eighteen. If she did only live at her Dad's for two more months…it might be nice to see if she could live on her own two feet before she went to college.

"Are there other High Schoolers there?" she asked trying to pretend that she was not remotely interested. Lexie however could read her like a book and she grinned.

"Several. Look it's just a hangout for some and some stay there. This guy who runs the place doesn't care. You pay cash up front and you come and go as you please. It's like college for High School and everyone is checked out. No criminals. I mean it. And I think the building is up to code as well. So no fires in the middle of the night. Look…just think about it ok. If I have to share a bathroom with anyone I'd rather it be you. Come September that's where I'm going to be. Come and take a look before you brave Uncle Hank. Just remember when you turn eighteen there's not much he can do"

Bridget shot Lexie a long look. "How long have you known my father?" she said with an eyeroll. She flopped on the bed. "Can I spend the night at yours? I don't want to go home and I'm pretty sure that I'm drunk enough. I mean really what the hell does he see in her? I mean…wasn't she engaged not five minutes ago?"

Lexi wisely did not comment on anything she said and instead tipped the wine bottle back a bit so more fell into the mug and listened as Bridget spoke without meaning occasionally commenting but never correcting as best friends did.

* * *

Hank got the text message when he came home. Bridget was spending the night at Lexi's. It wasn't uncommon the two were best friends after all and with Meredith working her night shift he supposed they wanted some privacy. He knew his daughter and he felt a bit more comfortable letting her and Lexi roam free than he would have been had it been Erin.

The case had worked out in the end he supposed. Everyone was alive, even if all the victims involved would never be the same again. One was still unconscious in hospital, one was pregnant with a scar of her name scrawled into her arm and the other had just had her world blown apart and was trying to figure out what she was going to do next. There were no winners in this one he supposed. Just another case that kept him up at night wondering weather or not one day he would stop seeing Bridget in the eyes of some of the abused women he saw. He couldn't help it.

The thought of anything happening to his baby girl was such that he couldn't _breathe_. God help him when Bridget did eventually decided that she wanted to move out. He wasn't sure if he could actually function alone for long periods of time before the darkness of his mind eventually kicked in.

But as he looked around his dark living room absent of his usually smiling daughter who was always it seemed sprawled on his couch with her laptop, he thought that perhaps it was time that he got used to the idea of being alone.

Hank didn't like it.

He didn't like it at all.

But he supposed he didn't have much of a choice. As his wife would say all children had to grow up.

* * *

 **Next Chapter-A baby is found in a duffel bag and Hank has to comprehend the desperation that it takes to abandoned a baby all the while thinking of Bridget. Bridget cannot take her mind off Lexi's offer and Justin, Olive and baby Daniel come home for their three week visit.**

 **And let me know what you think. I will try and update sooner rather than later. **


	27. Refuge

**Hi, so here is a double update. I was in the zone and worked really hard to get this one through. So now only two more chapters until the conclusion of Season 3. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will try and publish the next one as soon as.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 26-Refuge

A baby is found in a duffel bag and Hank has to comprehend the desperation that it takes to abandon a baby while all the while thinking of Bridget. Bridget however cannot take her mind of Lexi's offer and Justin, Olive and Daniel come home for a three week visit.

* * *

It was a baby.

A baby in a duffel bag.

In Chicago, in September.

There were no words for this kind of thing.

Actually there were, several, but Hank was trying desperately not to use them. Natalie Manning had told him that if the mother had given birth then she would likely be scared out of her wits and in need of medical attention, there were reasons why you abandoned a baby a week or so after it was born and it wasn't the panic that came in the immediate hours. There was something wrong here and shouting at the poor girl when they found her was probably not going to help matters.

Hank knew she was right, he just couldn't help himself sometimes.

It didn't help that the baby was a tiny little girl. It was a beautiful little girl as well with big eyes and small hands that had been clenched around the blanket she had been wrapped in. She had been as small as stone and holding her as he had pulled her out of the bag had been a flashback straight to when he had first held Bridget who had also been a rather quiet baby. She'd not come out screaming which had terrified the hell out of him rather stare at him with the eyes the exact shade as her mother as if she found this intrusion into the new world confusing and wanted to latch onto something.

She had never been a crier either. Scared the life out of him sometimes when he found he had slept through the night and she had been there asleep in her crib. Justin on the other hand had been a nightmare. Teething, terrible twos, the lot. He found that he was sleepwalking through most days. It had been a good reason to delay having a second child. Bridget had been a dream which was strange because he had always been told it was the other way around.

Anyhow the baby was now hooked up to machines. Natalie told him that in order for the hospital to declare her legally dead she had to be at the temperature in which they classed as alive. Or so Hank took to understanding. There could be other reasons of course but that was what they got.

He went back to the station was questions that needed to be answered and some he had to admit—not to do with cases.

How desperate did someone have to be to do that?

Why would someone abandon their baby like that?

And more to the point where the hell were the parents in all of this? If the mother had not told anyone she was pregnant how did she hide it? He didn't think that he could have not seen the signs had it been Bridget who was pregnant. Though he had to admit that Bridget was good at hiding things when she wanted to be he would have hoped that she would trust him if it had been her in this situation.

Come to think of it she did know…

He cut himself off, of course Bridget knew, he suspected Camille had given her 'The Talk' and that Erin had promptly followed. God knows he had tried but the look on her face had been enough to dissuade him from continuing. He had just told her to use protection and to be sensible, never leave your drink lying around…stuff like that.

He might have also ranted about the dangers of uncut drugs as well but to be honest he had chalked that whole memory into the box of memories he didn't like to think about that much.

He sat down and eyed his phone for a second.

No. Bridget had been pretty clear about not wanting him to call her at every whim. Plus she was in school and he doubted she'd apricate detention. He had still not spoken to her about the whole thing Al had told him about Lexi. He had not seen her since she had spent last night at Lexi's house other than to receive a text saying she was alive and well not that that meant much when it came to Bridget. His daughter was a lot craftier than he imagined he had ever really given her credit for.

He had a feeling that at some point that was going to come back and bite him in the backside.

But still, he didn't mind admitting to himself that he was looking forward to seeing her tonight.

* * *

"Hank" it was Erin, despite everything she was still calling Hank like she was fifteen, he wondered weather or not she would ever snap out of that habit. Erin he knew was also dangerously close to this case, the ghost of Charlie was there between the two of them, the relationship that could have seen he and his wife becoming surrogate grandparents. He tried not to think about that. He knew Erin did as well. To be honest the way she had been back then and the damage that had been done to her they both knew it was nothing short of a miraculous event.

"Yeah" he said pulling himself out of memory lane with a smile that he suspected might have looked like a pained grimace. "You got anything?"

"Al and Adam are brining in someone they are pretty sure are the father, turns out he has the same car. And Kim called."

Hank nodded. So the baby was dead. Well, at least they could get the body back know, this amped up the charges somewhat as well.

"The baby?" he asked.

"Yeah" Erin said, but there was something in her expression that made him pause and look at her more closely. She was staring at him with a smile playing around the edges of her mouth. Hank knew Erin, he knew that she wouldn't be smiling like that if she had news that the baby was dead…did that mean? Could she possibly be saying that despite everything the baby was?

"Yeah" Erin said again reading his expression perfectly. "The baby's alive Hank"

There was another long pause.

"How the hell?" he said once he'd got his voice working again.

"Natalie was right." Erin said simply. "Turns out you have to be warm to be dead. Kim and Sean are gonna hang around for a bit keep an eye on her, see if anyone comes in asking questions or if a young girl comes in with birth related trauma and no baby, stuff like that"

Hank nodded. There was a pause where he acknowledged that the baby was still alive, that there was still hope to take from this horrible experience but it was fleeting. There was a case to solve.

And he wouldn't admit to himself that he would feel a hell of a lot better if he got a phone call or at the very least a text message from his daughter.

After all she was the one racking up a bill using the damn mobile he had bought her. The least that she could do was let him know that she was doing alright.

* * *

Bridget was in fact not doing alright. One bottle of wine with Lexi had turned into two and then it was the vodka bottle that Bridget had not known she'd had stashed under her bed. Lexi had said it was a gift from a friend and Bridget was once again left to ponder (while sat in Lexi's bathtub eating pizza at two in the morning) what kind of people Lexi knew and the confidence it must take to have them on your phone when your father was a cop.

Bridget had said at two fifteen that she wished she could be like that and Lexi who had been dancing stopped jumping around to comment that if Bridget moved out into the warehouse when she turned eighteen she would know a lot of them and a lot more about life in general.

The rest of the time Bridget had spent looking up at the stars on Lexi's ceiling or in the mirror in her underwear and wishing in her mind that she could have had both the confidence and the beauty to pull a man like Sean Roman and keep him.

Stupid Kim she decided before she drifted off to sleep.

Come noon when she woke up she felt like she was going to be sick. She held it in however, she was not going to vomit in Aunt Meredith's sink. Surprisingly she held it in. Bridget supposed she had seen enough of Justin and Erin drunk to know what it was when you threw up. It was not a feeling she wished to encourage.

Instead she had a cup of very black coffee drinking it fast so the heat scaled her throat and then she downed two aspirin's, had another cup of coffee that made her feel a bit better and then a very long hot shower in which she washed her hair she was feeling alive. Two more pills later after she had blown dried and then straightened her hair Lexi opened one eye and immediately swore running for the bathroom. Bridget took that as the que to go and start something that vaguely resembled breakfast or lunch and to begin the process of cleaning up Meredith's house.

It was how their relationship worked she knew, Lexi made the stupid decisions and Bridget went along with it completely prepared for the clean up. But Bridget and Lexi were best friends and the truth of the matter was that Bridget couldn't imagine a life without her boy crazy, drink crazy, full of life loud best friend who had no fear whatsoever. Sometimes she felt that if it hadn't have been for Lexi she would have drowned in her own head a long time ago.

She fired off a text message to her Dad to let him know that she was ok (no need to mention the underage drinking bit) and then she had just turned on the TV when Lexi dripping like some sea creature came in and threw herself at the eggs, bacon and toast like a woman dying of starvation.

"How the hell are you standing there without a hangover?" she complained. Bridget grinned cradling her third cup.

"Because I stopped drinking at one like anyone sensible and you kept going until three."

"Bitch. Anything happening in the great wide world we are about to enter?"

"They found some baby in a duffel bag, but good news is the baby's alive so…I mean small mercies right?"

"In this city in September in the middle of the night yeah it is. We've only got two days left since school you know. I need to go shopping at some point when I feel like standing"

Bridget snorted.

"You'd be dead without me" she said her eyes on the TV.

"Damn right I would. What are you going to do?"

"Go home. Justin's coming home today and I want to get the house ready for him and Olive. Or at the very least make sure that the sheets are clean and that the highchair is there because Dad probably hasn't thought of that."

Lexi nodded before returning to her breakfast. Bridget could tell that she had understood nothing of what she'd been saying. Problem was Bridget couldn't help but think over in great detail about what Lexi had said to her. Especially the bit about moving out.

* * *

"You know" Erin said finally as she sat at her desk after arresting the mother of that terrified teenager at Chicago Med staring at the baby she'd had no choice but to get rid of. "I feel good about this case and yet bad. I'm glad the baby's alive and I'm glad I got to show that mother up in public but the nurse being deported and the parents of that little boy that didn't know what was going on…"

"I know" Hank said finally. "There are winders and there are losers in this game"

Erin nodded. "There going to release both of the parents?" she said finally.

"Yeah I think so. CPS are gonna recommend the boy gets therapy and hopefully they can move on. I don't think he realised he did anything wrong really but…it would be a waste if this ruined his life. Too many lives in this have been ruined."

"Mother's like Tonya's make me want to give Bunny a mother's day card. She didn't give a shit and that was bad most of the time but sometimes they can give a shit about all the wrong reasons. If my kid came home and told me she was pregnant or that he had gotten someone pregnant I would hug them before I started yelling at them"

Hank nodded though it he was being honest with himself he wasn't really hearing her.

"You thinking about Bridget" Erin stated reading him too well.

"I'd hope if she was in that kind of trouble she'd come to me." He said finally. "I'd be disappointed. I'd find the kid who got her knocked up and string him up by his balls but I wouldn't force her to hide it or give birth in secret and then give the kid away and get a nice cash bonus out of it."

Erin nodded standing up and reaching for her jacket. "That's because you're a good parent. Come on, Justin will be home and I want to see him"

* * *

Bridget was home when he came in. Justin was there too with Olive and baby Daniel and carefully when he handled his grandson he didn't think about the baby he had handled yesterday morning. It felt like a lifetime since then.

Bridget came out looking tired but not like she was about to announce any life-changing news which he supposed was good. She smiled at him and then reached out to take Daniel off him. She hooked him onto her hip as his hands started pulling at her hair. The situation was so strange after what had happened today that he had to look away. He had never considered Bridget as a parent to a baby, after all she had been his baby for so long.

He had to shake his head. He was not ready for Bridget to grow up.

And yet here she was growing up before his eyes. Come November she would be eighteen and legal in most countries to get up to all sorts of mischief. And then there was college.

Maybe if he started promoting the University of Chicago at dinner?

"Are you ok?" Bridget asked finally looking at him Daniel still on her hip and now interested in the golden chain of her St Michael necklace that he realised with a jolt had been his wife's. When had she taken that? He had always left his wife's jewellery box on his desk and she had clearly gone in and taken it. She had never done that before. He knew Erin had a few pieces but never Bridget.

He took a deep breath. Getting emotional now wouldn't help.

He walked over to Justin who seemed to understand.

"She's growing up isn't she?" he said slinging an arm over his shoulder and Hank remembered a time when that seemed like a pipe dream.

"Yeah" he said watching her. "She just seemed to grow…didn't see it coming"

"I know" Justin said. "But she's still gonna need you, you know. And me. And we need her" he grinned letting go and grabbing an bottle of beer for Hank who was still watching his daughter.

He knew he still needed both of his children.

He couldn't imagine life without either one of them.

* * *

 **And let me know what you think.**

 **Next Chapter-Kim and Sean get themselves into trouble. Bridget tries to hide the hurt (though Hank knows better) Bridget and Sean also share a moment, Lexi speaks her mind (and is in her mind a great best friend) and Bridget comes face to face with the man who sent her father to prison- the ADA Peter Stone. **


	28. See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

**Hi, so here is another chapter and the penultimate chapter of the Season 3 arc. Next chapter will be the last one and then we move onto Season 4 for the final section of this story.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And I hope to update sooner rather than later.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 28-See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Kim and Sean get themselves into trouble, Bridget tries to hide the hurt (though Hank knows better) Bridget and Sean also share a moment, Lexi speaks her mind (and is in her own mind a great best friend) and Bridget comes face to face with the man who sent her father to prison—the ADA Peter Stone.

* * *

The call had come in that night. They had been sat the lot of them, Bridget, her Dad, Erin, Justin, Olive and the baby all around the table talking and laughing. It was as good to a perfect night as Bridget could remember and then the phone rang and instantly it was ruined when her Dad answered and the colour drained from his face.

"Cop got shot" was all he said and then Erin was on her feet reaching for her jacket without another word and the mood in the room plummeted by several degrees. Bridget watched them leave, it wasn't the first time this had happened after all but there was something about her Dad's posture that she couldn't help but notice. As if he was deliberately trying to keep things normal and that set her instincts alight with suspicion. She shot Justin a look just to see if she was imagining things and her brother nodded without using words as if to say that he too could see that there was something wrong.

"Dad" Justin said into the silence in the room. "Is it someone you know?"

Her Dad turned as if he was thinking hard about the answer and Bridget saw his eyes flicker to her face for a split second before he answered. She had a feeling there was a reason why he was looking at her. The only cop that she had ever been close to other than the ones that were in this room was…

But her Dad was already speaking.

"Sean Roman"

Bridget didn't think she breathed for a full minute. She kept her composure drawing in on every inch of her courage to face him and keep calm. She was not going to have some sort of a breakdown now.

"He was shot through the window of his car. Kim went after the shooter and shot him in the back, I need to go and get a hold of the crime scene. So far Al can't find a gun."

"Is Sean dead?" Bridget asked trying to find the words. Her Dad shook his head. And then Bridget got what the other deal about no gun being found was about.

"Is the person Kim shot African American?"

"Yeah"

"Press will be all over this" Bridget predicted but her Dad was already out the door.

She reminded herself that night as she went to bed that at least Sean was not dead.

That for her was the biggest obstacle overcome.

And she found that she needed to go and see him when the morning came.

* * *

He was paler than she realised. It had not been hard to get into the room. He was in a private room and the ED was still awash with cops and there was one at the door. He either knew her or knew of her and he let her in the room. She shut the door and pulled the curtains closed behind her and then sat on the edge of the bed.

He was paler than she had thought he would be. Which seemed a stupid thing to acknowledge really because Sean had been shot. Of course he would be pale and week. He was under the influence of drugs and his arm was heavily wrapped in bandages. He was also hooked up to the machines but with his hair swept back from his face and his skin all clammy and his eyes half open and dazed she couldn't help but realised two things. One, he was still incredibly good looking even when he was injured and two, her feelings for him had not changed. The childhood, teenage crush was still there bubbling away under the surface.

"Hey" she said when he opened his eyes.

"Bridg…" And he trailed off unable to continue the sentence. Bridget grinned.

"Yeah. Your pretty stoned Sean. Some powerful drugs there"

"Pretty" Sean said smiling. Bridget grinned back. "I only came in her for two minutes. I have to go get ready. Tomorrow's first day of Senior Year"

"Very pretty"

Bridget giggled unable to stop herself her hand still on top of his and then the curtain opened and to her dismay and yet privately her secret glee she saw Kim Burgess on the doorstep. The woman took in her and Sean holding hands and seemed to stop moving. Bridget took a moment to take in the stunned look and took an amount of satisfaction in that Kim Burgess was feeling exactly what she had been feeling when she had seen them make out in the police car like horny teenagers.

"Hello" Bridget said politely. She smiled all sweetness and light, it was the smile she generally reserved for Matt Casey, Gabby Dawson and the rest of those people at the Fire House who had been in some way instrumental in chipping away at her family brick by brick. Anyone could see through it and most chose not to. It made life a lot easier.

"Hi…err…I was just…"

"Oh don't let me stop you, I was just going anyway." Bridget said smiling again. She moved towards the door and then stopped turning around as Kim moved more into the room.

"Did they get the gun?" she asked all sweetness and light.

Kim shook her head. Bridget smiled again and then walked out of the room dropping her smile as soon as nobody she knew could see her. The problem with smiles like that was that they generally tended to crack your face is you held them in position for too long.

She allowed herself a slither of satisfaction however. Sean had called her very pretty.

* * *

However when she got to the prescient she barely smiled at all. Actually she did something that could be described as exceptionally stupid under the circumstances but she couldn't help it. If she had hated the Dawson siblings and Matt Casey all that time her father and her brother had rotted inside then that was nothing compared to the hatred that she felt for the man that was coming down the stairs with what looked like Kim and Sean's personal files in his arm. He stopped staring at her and there was an expression on his face that might have indicated amusement at the cruel turn of fate that saw them in the same room and again she suspected on opposite sides.

The man was Peter Stone.

The last time that Bridget had seen Peter Stone she had been on the stand and he had been ripping her to shreds. The last time she had seen him he had been telling everyone that her father was an embarrassment to the badge, the city and his wife's memory while Antonio Dawson had nodded along in the seat behind him like the sanctimonious holy than thou prick he was. The time before that he'd had her in an interrogation room and was picking apart details with her for over an hour until Erin had shown up furious and threatened him within an inch of his life.

There was no love lost between the two of them. Actually if she was being honest with herself she wouldn't have minded if Peter Stone's body had been thrown off the docks weighted down with some rocks. It even took her a second to get why he was here. Of course he was here to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting. It made perfect sense. A cop had been shot, a cop had returned fire and had shot someone and now there was no gun. And if he knew (and if he only bothered to look a little then surely he would know) about Sean and Kim's relationship (for lack of a better word) then the game was over. A few minutes ago that would have made Bridget smile…but now it just made her feel hollow. She had been on the end of that look of Peter Stones. She wouldn't wish it on anyone. Even Kim.

There was another long look passed between them and then he gave that smile that she remembered only too well. And then before she could stop it, before she could even remember making the decision to act upon it, before had even seen her father standing at the top of the steps to the office, she had crossed the room reached back with her hand and smacked Stone so hard across the face his whole head went snapping to the side. The whole room went silent and Bridget got the distinct impression that Trudy was hiding a smile but she didn't care, she was already pushing past him and up the steps to the door that her Dad had opened for her, up the stairs again and into his office sitting down on the couch and running a hand through his hair.

"Not that I don't appreciate the gesture Bridge, but you probably shouldn't have done that"

Bridget laughed. "Oh I didn't do that for you. I did that for me. I've been wanting to do that for a long time"

Her Dad laughed, a real life this time the lines near his eyes crinkling.

Bridget couldn't help herself, she found that she was laughing too.

"Dad" she said once she had stopped. "You know Sean and Kim?"

"Oh I know. I'd be poor at my job if I didn't…for what it's worth, you could do better than him. Even if he wasn't the worst idea of a man for you that I had in my head"

Bridget's first instinct was to deny it. But she couldn't deny it of course so what was the point. Instead she nodded and she forced herself to look away least he see the emotion that was in her face. She thought however that her father had understood however.

* * *

Lexi shouldn't have done it. She really shouldn't have. Looking back it was probably cruel to do it but she did it anyway. As she stepped outside the precinct to go and find Bridget and deliver her the coffee that Lexi being the amazing best friend she was had kindly come to surprise her with, she saw Kim Burgess stepping out into the sunlight sans badge and gun. Lexi had been around cops long enough to know what a suspension looked like.

"Should have kept your panties on" she said she walked past. It was a cruel, merciless comment to a woman that had done nothing wrong but Lexi had seen the look on Bridget's face when she had seen the two of them kissing, she had seen the doubt in her eyes when Lexi had said truthfully that Bridget was one of the prettiest girls she had ever met. She had been Bridget's friend for years.

And she didn't like the person who had made her friend cry even if she was a good cop.

And with that she mind she swept past the steps and went to find her best friend.

* * *

Peter Stone got something that might have been conceived as a victory. Bridget wouldn't know on the account of the fact that she refused to be in the same room as the man but assumed Antonio had put his new job to use and had given them something.

She had been at home watching Daniel nap and out of the corner of her eye she had seen Justin play with his phone.

"Anything wrong?" she had asked him. Her brother looked up with an expression that made something in the pit of her stomach clench. It was the look on his face that he had had two years ago when he had been newly released from prison and she had thought that it was only a matter of time before he got himself killed. For a second her brother looked at her and then he shook his head that easy smile coming to his face. He stood and pressed a kiss to her forehead and then walked into the kitchen. Bridget didn't say anything but the feeling that something wasn't right sat with her for a long time that night.

She wasn't wrong and in a weeks time her world was about to be blown apart. That night as she slept however Bridget didn't know it.

Nothing would ever be the same for her again.

* * *

 **And there you go, we all know what's coming next.**

 **Next Chapter-As Bridget and Sean spend a moment together as Sean prepares to leave events take place that will see Bridget and Hank's lives ripped apart and a decision that will leave father and daughter suffer an perhaps irreversible divide. **


	29. Contemptous Words

**Hi, so here Is the end of the Season 3 arc. Following this update there will be another one (hopefully) which will see the start of Season 4 and the final arc of this story. I predict ending this story at about 42 chapters so there's still a long way to go.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter as I've been laying the groundwork for ages. Expect a lot of angst in this chapter and the Season 4 arc but Bridget's actions and words will be explained in depth a bit more next time.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 29-Contemptous Words

As Bridget and Sean spend a moment together as Sean prepares to leave events take place that will see Bridget and Hank's lives ripped apart and a decision that will leave father and daughter suffer a perhaps irreversible divide.

* * *

It's funny how you don't know how your life is going to change.

Once upon a long time ago Bridget had stood in front of her father and told him that if he took someone down to the docks and put the concept of revenge ahead of her she would never forgive him. She had not thought about that night since. Now of course that was all she could think of.

But that was one story for another time.

They celebrated Daniel's birthday on a Tuesday.

It was a normal Tuesday. Bridget had took some time to think about what she would give her nephew and she had decided to give him a teddy bear that practically dwarfed him in size. Daniel stared at it for a second looking up and then spent the entire evening chewing it's finger staring into space. Bridget supposed that meant that he was glad with her present.

"You ok?" she asked Justin as she sat down. Erin had brought champagne given she had done a year off coke and she'd managed to grab a glass. Justin grinned at her.

"All good sis."

There was a pause where the two of them sat there.

"I heard" Justin said delicately. "That Sean Roman was leaving the force"

Bridget nodded.

"He's going back to the small town that he came from" she said finally. "It's a sad end to a great cop"

Justin nodded. "And I suppose a sad end to what you wanted from him?"

Bridget shrugged.

"You know" Justin said finally. "You don't want a man who wants to be with another woman or who puts his job before you. You want a man that thinks your golden. Because you are golden Bridget. Your golden and perfect and beautiful, and if I ever leave you with anything other than this then I've done a good job. Don't ever… _ever_ …throw away your life on anyone that you doesn't think your perfection."

"Jesus Justin anyone would think that I was getting married tomorrow" Bridget said laughing and hoping against hope that it would hide the hysteria that was bubbling up underneath. Because either Justin was drunk or something was wrong and it made her pause in her seat.

"Bridget. I mean it."

Bridget stared at him for a second and then before she could open her mouth and reply to that her father had sat down and the tension was broken. Bridget looked at him and she saw the fact that he looked younger than she had ever seen him. Bridget chalked it down to the fact that for the first time in a long time his family was around him, safe and whole. This time last year they had been in New York and they had been watching the trial of Yates—the man who had murdered Nadia. It had been a long full circle since then—at least for Erin.

She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it.

She was probably being paranoid anyway.

That night Justin hugged her and left.

It was the last night that Bridget saw her brother alive.

* * *

She didn't know what she was doing when she went to see Sean. There was a pause where she stood there on the doorstep and she bit her bottom lip before knocking. Bridget didn't know what it was that made her want to go there but she couldn't help the fact that she wanted to say goodbye to him.

It was Sean that opened the door thank God. Bridget knew (because Lexi was a good friend and a better texter) that he and Kim had broken up and that the department wouldn't be paying for the surgery that would keep him up to fitness levels which Bridget thought was shit to the extreme but even so she was glad when he was the one that opened the door and it was clear that he was alone.

There was a second where she stared at him and then Bridget did something very brave and possibly exceptionally stupid when she leaned forwards and kissed him.

It was either the whiskey she could taste on him or the fact that there was very little either one of them had to lose but he kissed her back and she fell backwards into his apartment and into the feeling that she was legal, she was a woman and she was putting to bed a ghost for the first time in her life.

Later Bridget lay in the bed. She had fallen asleep and when she woke up the sky was a bright blue and the sun was shining. There was a pause where she sat there for a second deliciously sleepy. She could finally understand why Lexi talked about her boyfriends as if they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. She could finally appreciate why Erin had nearly thrown away her life for Charlie and her career for Jay. It didn't matter that this was a one time thing and that it didn't change anything. It didn't matter that this was a one night stand at best and wasn't going to go anywhere. What mattered Bridget thought was that she was with a man who respected her and who she respected. A man that she trusted, who had been kind and gentle and a man that she felt no regrets towards. All in all she thought that her mother might approve.

It was her swan song to Sean she supposed as she kissed him goodbye. It was her ending. She wouldn't see him again.

It didn't matter. This was perfect.

She pulled her phone out of her bag and flicked it on as she got into the cab. He'd wanted to drive but all Bridget had wanted was a stiff vodka and a good cry because something so perfect was ending. Plus she thought that she wanted to be alone and yet she knew she couldn't be alone. She couldn't explain why these strange emotions were flying through her right now but she knew that she wanted to talk to someone. There was Lexi who was working and Erin who was also working. She flipped out her phone to see who was free and then stopped dead.

Seventeen phone calls. Eighty text messages.

Suddenly her blood went cold.

This many text messages meant something.

Instead of ringing her father or Erin or Antonio or Trudy or Al she flipped through the missed calls to find the one that made her feel slightly sick.

She pressed call. The cab driver looked at her. Bridget didn't want to think about what she looked like when there was an ache between her legs and her hair was mused and she could still feel Sean and yet her eyes were wild as if she knew…she knew…what was coming.

"Jay" she said her voice quiet.

"Oh thank…Bridget…"

There was something in Jay's voice that made her throat close up.

"Jay I'm in a cab…where should he go?"

"Chicago Med. Bridget. It's Justin, he's been shot"

* * *

Jay had gone straight to the hospital. Erin was there, standing but barely leaning against the wall. Mouse had directed him to the hospital after he had received conformation that Bridget was there and he saw her coming in. Voight was still in the room with Olive. Antonio was clutching the baby rocking him with an expression that was set in stone.

Bridget walked in. There was something about her that told Jay that she knew what was coming. It was up to him to break it to her. It was clear that Voight was nowhere. And Jay…Jay liked the girl. He really did. He wanted to go and comfort her and tell her that it was all going to be ok even though he knew it was simply shit.

She saw him coming.

"No. No. Jay…No…No…Please"

And then she fell, her knees had given out and Jay caught her before she hit the floor. There was a depth of anguish in her that he couldn't analyse, something in her that was so strong. Her knees went out and she cried against his chest her eyes so wide and blown that he thought she was going to choke on what was in her, the emotions rising inside of her, it was nothing to hold her and let her cry it out.

It shouldn't have been him holding her he realised loosely even as Erin fell to the floor and the baby started crying. It should have been Voight. And yet he noticed that his boss was not there. It was he that was keeping the seventeen year old afloat.

And really, how was that his job?

And yet it was still Bridget who was crying on his shoulder as he had to force out the words that told her that her brother was brain dead.

* * *

There was a part of her that had wanted to go to her Dad. And yet there was another part of her that felt ill at the very thought. She didn't want to see him when he was in this mood. She didn't want to see him when she was like this.

She knew he didn't want to see her. Bridget had learnt a long time ago that it was Justin and Erin before her and when she went back to her house she found she was throwing up in her bathroom shaking and trembling and crying.

She caught her expression in the mirror.

Justin was dead.

She threw up in the bathroom.

Justin was dead.

She wanted her Dad.

Justin was dead.

She wanted Sean.

Justin was dead.

She wanted her Mom.

Justin was dead.

And she hadn't even gotten a say in it either. Her Dad had yanked the plug before she had even gotten there. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye. The second time in her life that she had said goodbye to a member of her family after the fact. It was almost laughable If the whole situation hand been so incredibly painful. It was like someone was taking her insides and scraping them raw. Actually, come to think of that it was worse than that. She had no idea how she was feeling but there was something under the edge that was beyond unbearable.

And that was before she thought about what it was that her Dad was going to do when he found the person responsible?

Why had it taken Erin ringing her for her to figure that out?

Of course it was the docks.

It was always the fucking docks.

And Bridget was beyond any kind of emotion until she got she got the phone call. She was borderline hysterical and that was if she being kind to herself. Let's face it, neither Olive nor her Dad had bothered to comfort her.

The irony was it was Antonio that called her and warned her.

She would worry about that later rather than sooner.

Right now she was running on an emotion that was fury rather than anything else.

How could he not remember that conversation? The one that she and him had, had together after Antonio had been shot and he she had known for the first time that all of that shit that she had overheard about her father was true.

Erin picked her up in the car.

The woman had known exactly what was going on and Bridget had not even had to ask.

Erin had not even asked about the fact that she was shuddering with the sobs that were threatening to come out of her skin.

* * *

Bridget was stood in front of him. Bingham was kneeling in the mud, his son was dead and Bridget was stood there tears and rain down her face and an expression that told him all that he needed to know. Erin was next to her car and Erin wasn't even looking at him.

"You told me that you'd never do this again"

"Go"

"Dad…"

"BRIDGET. GO!"

"If you do this, I am gone! Do you understand me? You will never see me again! I will go! You'll lose both of us, you will bury both of us…Dad…"

Her cry was enough to bring him to his knees. Losing Camille had been hell, losing Justin was pain upon pain, losing Bridget would finish him

"DAD!"

He turned and faced her. Her hair was plastered to her face and her eyes were blown wide. There was a moment where they looked at each other and then the light in her eyes seemed to die in front of him.

"I HATE YOU"

"BRIDGET GO!"

Bridget turned on her heel and turned away. Erin looked at him as if he was a monster.

Hank didn't care.

Bridget would come back eventually.

(God he hoped that Bridget would come back eventually)

He turned back to Kevin Bingham.

* * *

Bridget was silent in the car home.

"Get me home" she said through chattering teeth. Erin complied.

A bag, and a good portion of things that her mother had owned. Destruction of a few photos and glasses and then then she was done, well, as done as she could be despite the situation.

Erin tucked her into bed. Erin smoothed her hair back. Erin cried with her.

Jay watched from the doorway.

How had it been that his morning she had been wrapped in Sean Roman's arms and the world had been golden?

* * *

 **And there is it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the ones that follow, I will try and update sooner rather than later. As with the Sean arc to this story I would like to state that Bridget is LEGAL. So hopefully no confusion.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget is now living with Erin and is furious. Justin's funeral doesn't help matters whatsoever. Erin has a choice to make. Hank believes Bridget will come back. **

**Hope you enjoy. **


	30. House Divided

**Hi, so here is another chapter and the first of the Season 4 arc. There are only twelve more chapters left of this story and some episodes jump around my chapters a bit this season also has a lot more angst.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just the character of Bridget**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 30-House Divided

Bridget is now living with Erin and is furious. Justin's funeral doesn't help matters whatsoever. Jay tries to point out the obvious but to no avail. Erin has a choice to make and a side to pick, Hank believes that Bridget will come back.

* * *

The days following the funeral were perhaps the worst. Bridget had gone something that the night before Erin wouldn't have banked a lot on and had by some great stretch kept her mouth shut. She didn't look at Hank in fact she swept past him as if he was a hat-stand and made damn sure that Erin was sat between the two of them. It was a magnificently drawn out insult to a man who was already bleeding in more ways than one but Bridget didn't seem to care and even Erin had a hard time thinking about Kevin Bingham's body rotting beneath the mud at the docks.

She found that she was having nightmares. She was waking up in the middle of the night remembering the pleas. She had no sympathy for Justin's killer but at the end of the day she struggled with the idea of what Hank had done, knowing he was dirty and a killer was very different to seeing it in front of her. The phone calls from Commander Crawley had not helped and neither had the phone calls from Hank who still seemed to be under the impression that she could get through the stone wall that was Bridget. Even Jay was having a hard time. Bridget seemed to spend most of her time in her makeshift bedroom staring at the wall or the ceiling. If she was being honest with herself then it was getting harder and harder to ignore both Hank and Bridget who were both on opposite sides. To be honest without Jay she would have gone mad.

In those early days Jay had been a godsend because he seemed to have some idea of what to do with the brooding teenager. He was the one who had dragged Bridget out of the spare bedroom and had forced her into the shower, forced her to eat and then forced her to watch NCIS when it was on and earning the small smiles. Erin supposed she had to be glad. It made going back to work easier when she realised that Bridget wasn't going to burn the apartment building down when she was gone. It almost made up for Hank who seemed to hounding her at work though weather or not it was because he missed her and wanted to set things right with her or weather or not it was because he wondered if she would spill the beans to Crawley she didn't know.

And she had no idea right now where she was when it came to that. Justin had been her brother, Bridget was her sister and that family was destroyed. Erin was furious and heartbroken all at the same time and she had the added worry of what would happen if someone figured out that she had been there when Bingham had died the rumours that she liked a bit of cocaine on the weekends would have been obliterated.

As would her career.

The case that they were working over didn't help matters either, it was a son in a car who had been burned (both literally and figuratively) by a cop who reminded Erin a little too much of Hank when he had tried to cut corners but his whole attitude was such that she didn't know what he wanted from her. There was a pause where she sat in the ladies loos and tried to breathe and not cry.

Jay told her to send Hank down if she had to.

Erin knew she couldn't do that.

She didn't want to even ask what Bridget would have done.

"Is she alright?"

Rats. Had he been standing outside the Ladies room for the whole half hour she had granted herself?

There was no point in even pretending what it was that he meant when he said 'she'. Bridget.

How the hell was she supposed to answer that? Was she supposed to tell the truth? Which was that his daughter right now couldn't hear his name without walking out of the room or breaking something?

Yeah Hank didn't need to hear that.

Instead she went with a simpler version of the truth.

"She's…coping…she said something about going back to school next week so…"

The eyebrows mashed together.

"Yeah, well you tell her to come home before she does that"

"Hank…she's not ready yet to be honest…"

"Look I know she's pissed with me. I get it. She doesn't understand it…but she comes back…she always does, if you have to get tough with her. I know she's probably cramping what you and Jay have anyway"

Erin opened her mouth to say what she didn't know but before she could Kim appeared at the doorway to tell them that they had a lead on the suspects baby momma. Erin had never been so glad to see her in her life. She didn't think she could stand to stomp on the little bit of hope that she could see in Hank's eyes when he spoke of his daughter. She might be furious at him and heartbroken at the situation but Erin wasn't cruel.

At least not that cruel.

* * *

"Hey" Jay said finally as they were caught up with the paperwork. Voight was in his office and he knew that he wasn't just staring at the paperwork. Jay was something of an expert in interpreting their bosses behaviour by now and he knew when trouble was brewing. Voight had been arrested and then released probably when they couldn't find the body that Jay knew without asking (and nor did he want to) was somewhere underneath the docks. Erin had come back and locked herself in the showers and Jay had decided not to question why she had been covered in mud or why she and Al were sharing looks with each other. Actually he thought the less he knew about this situation the better off they would all be.

But he did wonder about one thing.

It wasn't that Jay didn't like Bridget, he did—she was cool in a way a lot of girls her age were not and he had to admit there was a part of him that deeply admired the shit that the kid had managed to walk through. And while he felt for her he did wonder what was going to come next. Bridget couldn't keep living with Erin for the rest of her life and Jay wasn't sure how their relationship with Erin would progress with an angry teenager in their house. It wasn't like Erin was the parent here.

"What?" Erin said finally looking at him.

"You thought anymore about Bridget? You know, maybe talking to her about Voight? Bridging that gap?"

"You think she'd listen?"

The answer was no but Jay ignored that.

"I don't want to broach the subject with her until she's ready to listen. Look Jay I know she's got to go home at some point and she will. She was restless the whole year Hank was in prison and he's all she's got left. She's not going to walk away from him for good. Trust me. She's pissed…who isn't?"

"I think you might be overstating things a little. And I think you might be underestimating things a lot. Have you told him—that she's talking to Lexi about moving out for good? I mean let's face it all she has to do is hang on for another few months and then school's over and she'll be in college and if the relationship isn't fixed by then it never will be."

They were in the car now and Jay felt a lot more confident being away from his boss though he wouldn't put it by him to have found someway of bugging the cars. He shook his head feeling paranoid. Erin was watching him and he could see that what he was saying resonated with her even if she was trying her hardest to ignore him.

"Look" Jay said finally. "I'll leave it alone tonight and I get it's only been a couple of weeks but you meant it when you said you'd move in with me. And I would never make you choose between me and Bridget but I do think you need to have a sit down with her and figure out what's going to happen. And then you have to sit down with your father figure and talk to him because I don't want to be on overtime for the rest of my life."

"Jay the thing with Hank and Bridget is to let them work it out"

Jay resisted the urge to smack his head into the dashboard. Erin seemed to have no idea how teenagers worked—which was strange because she too had been a teenager in Hank's house once upon a time.

"I know what it's like to let anger dictate the relationship between a kid and their father" he said quietly. "And it's a nightmare to repair it"

He didn't think that she heard him. Or perhaps she was ignoring him. Either way Jay knew he was done trying to interfere. All he had to do was to sit down and wait for the explosion to happen…again…

* * *

It felt like the first night that things were good. Bridget had spent some time on her laptop, had spoken to Lexi for the first time in weeks and she had smiled. Her friend had been full of moving out into the house where all the creative people lived and Lexi had made her promise to come out and see the place.

She had also looked up at information about money. She knew that she had money stashed away under her mother's name and she wanted it. God knows what she was going to have to do to get it off her Dad but she was prepared. She wanted some financial standing and she felt like if she entered the conversation with her temper under control and the facts on her side she might be able to stomach a conversation with her father. Actually she was nervous about it. She'd ignored every attempt he'd taken to get in touch with her and she was a little nervous about picking up the phone.

There was a knock on the door and Bridget heard Erin stand up.

Her Dad had only come to the apartment twice and both times Bridget had refused to see him or even unlock the door. Actually one time she had hidden in the bathroom which looking back was probably her lowest point but that had been the night before the funeral and she had been crying for most of it.

(Thank God for Lexi's cover up)

After a second with her hand on the doorknob she opened the door and peered around it. She was right it was her Dad. It took her a second to realise that he was talking to Erin and that it wasn't about her.

She leaned her head back against the door and listened in the darkness as her Dad asked Erin why she had dug up a body and moved it and Erin's response that she'd have been dead at fifteen if her Dad hadn't got involved with Bridget knew to be true.

And then came the surprising bit. And though she was loathe to admit it the hurtful bit. Despite her words and her feelings and her pain it was still hurtful. This estrangement had been down to her Dad's refusal to listen to her, his refusal to put her first and yet when she had been on the cusp of forgiving him once again he shunted her to the side.

"Your all I have left now"

It was a fury and a pain combined the such that she had never known. Again she was not enough—she was the last child that he'd had and yet when push came to shove again he had gone to Erin. If there had any proof that Erin had come first for him then this was it.

She gritted her teeth against the pain and reached for her phone dithering. Erin was on his side of course she was. Stupid of Bridget to think that she'd be on her side. Jay didn't want her around either, Lexi was an option but Al was so far on her Dad's side she'd get a night there and then he'd be kicking her out. Even Olive and baby Daniel had gone the woman seeing she suspected her Dad for the first time.

And Justin…

She had nobody. Finally her Dad had chosen Erin over her.

It came crashing down on her like it had never done so before.

She slammed the door shut behind her and slid down to the bottom curling her knees under her chin resisting the urge to cry and therefore not seeing the look of utter desolation that was etched on her father's face on the other side of the wood.

* * *

 **And let me know what you think I will try and update sooner rather than later.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget is too angry and in too much pain to listen. Erin is at the end of her rope, Kevin is a good person (though he suspects his boss might kill him) and Jordan Atwater gets the shock of his life one morning when he comes down for breakfast.**

 **Hope you enjoy. **


	31. Curveball

**Hi, so here is another chapter and a double update. There are only eleven more chapters of this story and I will try and update as soon as I am able too. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. A lot of Kevin's interaction here because I think his character is amazing and also amazingly easy to write.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And Enjoy.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 31-Curveball

Bridget is too angry and in too much pain to listen. Erin is at the end of her rope, Kevin is a good person (though he suspects his boss might kill him) and Jordan Atwater gets the shock of his life one morning when he comes down for breakfast.

* * *

"Are you gonna talk to your Dad today, because I think you should"

Jesus could Erin get any new material? For the last two weeks that had been all that she had talked about every morning. Bridget had gone from the answers to ignoring her now and discreetly looking for places to live. She had spoken to the bank and to a law firm and she suspected she had maybe a day before one of the two spoke to her Dad and he knew she was trying to find a way to get to the trust fund that was for her and not for him. She wondered if she would really have the balls to go up against him court. She also wondered if he really wanted her to go to court. If she opened her mouth a lot of shit about his unit would come to light. Hell a lot of shit about him would come to light.

Instead she went to school. Ignoring the pity looks and the whispers she focused on her work. The library was now her best friend and she ignored the still present phone calls and text messages that came through at all hours of the day. After the first message that very same night that Justin had died she had stopped listening to them. She had dithered for a very long time just deleting her Dad's number and disconnecting his calls but the reality was she wasn't that cruel.

Not yet anyway.

The case that Intelligence was working on seemed to be getting more and more complicated. This week it involved a case a drive by shooting that may have involved a gang war and a rap war all at once. Platt was recovering from her assault the week before and Bridget was self secure in herself to know that the reason why she didn't go and see the woman (instead sending her card with Lexi) was because she didn't want to hear one of her Dad's friends plead his case or what was more likely run into him or anyone else in Intelligence.

Instead she spent her afternoons hiding away in Erin's spare bedroom. Something had to change soon she knew. The problem was she didn't know how.

And at some point she knew she was going to have to see her father. Even if it was to grab some more clothes.

Unless…

Well…Bridget didn't want to admit that she was thinking about robbing off her own father as a last resort. Also trying to build a new life on money that was shady at best and probably illegally sought out at worst didn't help the situation. The reason she wasn't talking to her father was because he constantly committed illegal acts, didn't listen to her and had put his revenge before her. And then there was the lying and the overprotectiveness and the rest of the shit.

She had not wanted to be home when Erin had come home. This case was making life hell for her and she was in a mood when she called to see if Bridget had eaten that told the girl that Erin was going to give her grief. Erin and her Dad were back to being best friends as if that whole nightmare at the Docks had not happened. Sometimes Bridget thought that Erin's principals when she put on the badge were the same as her father's. Both were cut from the same cloth and yet she was the one who was judged as being harsh and an unfeeling cow.

Bridget was in Molly's before she could stop herself. She sighed again when she ordered a vodka and tonic with a double shot. Firstly, Otis and Hermann had to put someone on the door because getting in was too easy and then Otis would have to have a talk with the cousin that didn't speak much English but that was twice now that she'd managed to get served. Seriously if this had been Lexi she'd be on tables by now. She didn't know why she was here in a cop bar where her Dad could walk in at any minute. Or perhaps that was why she was here in her jeans and jumper and boots with her hair scraggily all over her shoulder and ink marks on her fingers.

She took a gulp of her drink and let her hair fall over her face. One other thing she had realised since she'd come out of her grief fog and had been on the rage train was that Sean had not called her once. She had wanted a goodbye and she had made the plunge in their relationship turning it from the emotional mess into something physical but she thought that the death of her brother might at least have warranted a text message.

She was beginning to suspect Lexi was onto something when she said men were nothing but idiots.

Someone sat down on the table opposite her and she looked up to tell whoever it was that she was not in the mood but she saw that it was Kevin Atwater.

"Oh fuck" she said finally.

"Yeah" he said sitting down with his scotch. "I am really gonna have to talk to Otis about firing his cousin from the homeland cause this is the second time I've found you in here trying to get slaughtered"

Bridget took another mouthful of vodka to prove the point.

"This time I need to"

"Yeah I know it's been hell for you"

"Erin's not helping—she wants me to talk to him"

"Maybe you should"

"Why? He's not gonna listen he never does, if he listened to me then what happened wouldn't have happened and you know what I mean…how did he explain it to you? What Bingham just got away? Is Justin's case even solved?"

"He didn't have to explain it. Hypothetically everyone knows what we'd find if we went by the docks. And I get it…actually even If I don't agree with it."

"Course you do. Everyone fucking agrees with it. I'm the one that has the problem with murder and I'm the one that Erin thinks is being cruel. Of course she does, she'd be dead you know—she told him that. She'd be dead at fifteen if he hadn't stepped in. Got himself a nice little groupie there you know. Erin's his alibi witness until the end of time. He doesn't need me he's got the daughter that he moulded from clay to do his dirty work. He showed up at her place and it was like I wasn't there. I tell him that I don't want to see him in prison again that I don't want him to continually put this need to make people suffer the consequences before me and he doesn't. I needed him Kev, I really needed him both before and after prison and at best I am a fucking afterthought—someone that has to lie on the stand so he can get a conviction—someone who didn't even know what Peter Stone was gonna sandbag her with on the stand because I didn't know anything. Someone he can pull out of the wings and use when _Erin_ —" she spat the name. "Isn't around. Forgave her didn't he? When she was doing cocaine, if I did that he'd never speak to me again."

She took two big gulps of vodka and winced. Kevin took the drink from her which she supposed was probably a good thing.

"So what are you gonna do? You know you could go and speak to someone. I'm sure that Doctor Charles or Doctor Reese could help?"

"Kevin the one thing I do not need to do is speak to a therapist. I need to sleep and try and not think of the last time and I saw my brother alive and what I said to him"

Suddenly the truth weighed down on her and she didn't have to say anything else. The loss of Justin of her big brother, the one person who was always on her side was such that she felt like it was a pain beyond pain. She had lost her mother and she could still remember it but the fact of the matter was she could not remember it being this bad. Maybe because she'd had the chance to say goodbye? She wiped her fingers under her eyes impatiently.

"Give me my drink back"

"Oh no, I've been on the end of enough crying girls to know that it doesn't help adding vodka to the mix. Do you want a hug instead? My sister Vanessa, she says a good hug always makes her feel better"

Bridget let out a watery laugh. How had someone as simply pure and good as Kevin Atwater ever ended up working for a unit that her father ran?

"It's a mess Kevin" she said finally.

Kevin nodded finishing his scotch.

"Oh I get it" he said finally. "I do get it. But staying here in some way of rowing with your Dad in public by drinking when your underage isn't going to help. Not to mention it will probably get our local closed down. Come on. I'll take you home to Erin's"

"I don't want to go to Erin's tonight—I'm tired it's like a million degrees and she'll judge me before placing a well time phone call to my Dad. I know Erin, I know she wants peace"

"Alright you can sleep in my spare room. Sheets are still there from when Vanessa had her friend over. I'll talk to the Sarge if you want…see if he's ok with it in the morning"

Bridget blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I'd rather have you in my house than have you out here drinking and doing God knows what. Besides there's no point in taking care of the city if we don't take care of the ones closest to us"

Bridget stared at him.

"Kevin, has anyone ever told you that you are too good for this world?"

Kevin snorted. "From your lips to God's ears Bridget"

* * *

Jordan Atwater would like it on whatever record there was that he did was not scream loudly. Or in a manner that was in any way high pitched. Ignore whatever Vanessa told you at a later date.

He did run back up the stairs however and straight into his brother's room but really? What would you do when you saw a utterly gorgeous senior standing in on old shirt and shorts in your kitchen cooking breakfast at nine on a Sunday?

"Who is that? Downstairs. Who is that?"

Kevin opened one eye and stared at him.

"That's my bosses daughter Bridget."

Which momentarily diverted Justin.

"Are you sleeping with your boss's daughter?"

"Ugh no! Jordan's she's seventeen"

"Excellent! She's only two years younger than me"

That got his brother up out of bed staring at him with wide eyes.

"Oh no" he said reaching for a shirt. "No Jordan you are not to make a pass at my bosses daughter. I'm on a thin enough ice already. Besides she's been through enough without having to deal with you. Anyway get a grip, I think I might ask her to stay for a bit—gotta be better than the alternative"

Jordan shrugged. Clearly Kevin had missed the important bit.

"You should have told me you had a girl looking like she does in our house, she's making pancakes Kev— _Pancakes. From scratch._ " he hissed. "Kev I walked downstairs without doing my hair or…oh my God"

And then he dove into the nearest bathroom ignoring Kevin's question of "Pancakes really?". It wouldn't do he decided as he reached for the hair gel and began to construction his hair in what he hoped was an artful, just rolled out of bed way, for Bridget Voight to think that she was now going to spend time in the house from hell.

* * *

He got to work on a record time. Granted there wasn't much to do on a Sunday and he reckoned (because he'd heard nothing) that his boss didn't know that his daughter had absconded from Erin's. But Kevin was nothing but a man of action and he wanted this out of the way as soon as possible. Last thing he wanted was Jordan in the throes of adolescence to come to the station and start waxing poetic about Bridget.

Voight could see the safety in this. Kevin liked to think he'd earnt his bosses trust—also those pancakes had been amazing. Hell if Bridget kept the kids off the take-outs she could stay in his spare room for the rest of eternity. He wondered if she knew how to do an omelette—Kevin had never been able to flip one very well, Vanessa wasn't that good in the kitchen and Jordan could burn water and then the house if you put him in front of the stove.

He knocked on the door. He wasn't at all surprised to see Hank Voight there on a Sunday. He wondered if the man was simply lonely now. He certainly looked exhausted and more to the point in need of a good meal. Kevin almost felt guilty for taking advantage of his daughters pancake making skills (of course then he remembered the fact that she'd offered to go shopping for him for food and that she was talking about making Cuban Sandwiches tonight and _he had_ to have one of those.

"Kevin"

"Boss…look…there's no easy way to tell you this so I'm just gonna…but please remember I have two kids at home who need me and the promise of a homemade Cuban Sandwich so…"

Voight looked at him. "What?"

"Look, last night I went to Molly's you know and I found your daughter in a corner with a very potent vodka crying turns out things at Erin's aren't brilliant…actually I don't think things are brilliant at all but you know…I didn't want to pry. I spoke to Otis he's gonna fire his cousin and I let Bridget spend the night in my spare room but I was thinking It might be best all round if she sleeps there for a bit. I mean she and Jordan are only a year or so apart so they can do homework and to be honest it be good for him and Vanessa needs some female company and…and boss not to get in between you and your daughter but she's gonna go off the rails at Erin's—she err—she doesn't think that Erin get's what she's going through. And also I should warn you she's thinking of suing you for her mother's trust fund but to be fair I don't think she's serious—that might have been the vodka talking"

He said all of this very fast and then stared at the ceiling bracing himself for the explosion.

There was a silence that seemed to go on for a while.

"Fine"

Kevin looked at him in surprise. He had not expected that. His boss was still looking at his paperwork as if this was a conversation on surveillance.

"Seriously?"

Voight shrugged.

"She doesn't want to live with me Kevin. There's no point in forcing her. I tried to tell Erin that but…anyway calculate how much she's gonna cost you and I'll write you a check"

"Oh no boss that's fine. She's cooking for me so…I think it's even. She makes a great pancake"

Voight didn't say anything for a second.

"Fine…I'll write her a check. Saves the hassle to be honest. She wants to be independent she can have it. But you tell her she comes to the house to get it and she get's it off me. She wants cash she's gotta come to me."

"Ok"

"She ok?"

The correct answer was no she wasn't but Kevin wasn't mean enough to tell his boss what Bridget had told him last night.

"She seems to be…I don't know…what's the right answer?"

"With my daughter? God only knows. Do me a favour though? If she has any boys over?"

"I got a gun too boss…and a sister…good training really"

Voight snorted.

"Thanks for taking care of her Kevin"

"No problem…I'll err…I'll go if that's ok…I mean I don't think we have anything open right now but if you want me to stay…"

"No. You go, enjoy the rest of your weekend. Do me a favour will you? Shut the door on your way out and tell Platt I don't want to be disturbed for an hour or so…" and with that he turned his chair around so he was staring out the window.

Kevin didn't know what to say or what to do. He was used to Voight in a rage nine times out of ten. This Voight was different.

"Ok" he said finally. "See you Monday sarge"

And with that he shut the door and walked down the stairs into the sunshine and decidedly did not look back towards the office where he was pretty sure his boss was falling apart.

* * *

 **And there you are. I hope you all enjoy. I will endeavour to update sooner rather than later.**

 **Next Chapter-Intelligence works a case that reminds both Hank and Al of their daughters and involves the latter's friend. Erin get's strange flowers from somewhere, Bridget checks out where Lexi is living and Hank and Bridget see each other for the first time since Justin's funeral.**


	32. If This Is It

**Hi so here is another chapter. With this chapter there are ten more chapters left of this story, however as i go back to work the updates might become a bit more slower.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this story.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 32-If This Is It.

Intelligence works a case that reminds both Hank and Al of their daughters and involves the latter's friend. Erin get's strange flowers from somewhere, Bridget checks out where Lexi is now living and with whom and Bridget and Hank come face to face with each other for the first time since Justin died.

* * *

The break in of a old basketball players house was not something that generally made Hank's office desk—of course when that house looked like a horror movie and there was a photo of Al and the guy with their arms wrapped around each other as if they were old friends that was a different matter entirely.

Trying to ignore the itch to check his phone (he knew Kevin had told his daughter that if she wanted cash then she was going to have to sit down with him and listen to his side of things—though that didn't mean she had gotten in touch with him) again he tried to focus on the case.

He hated it when it was people that reminded him of his children.

Well. Child now he supposed.

This kid couldn't be older than Bridget, hell considering the state of things between them this could be Bridget. He gritted his teeth again. He had no idea how she was doing and he couldn't keep plying Kevin for information, even though he knew his Officer was giving him weekly reports he didn't want to seem desperate nor was he keen to continue to see that soft sympathetic look in Atwater's eye.

He missed her. It was a simple as that. He'd never really fully apricated the mess that was his daughter, her very presence in his house. Everywhere had been some sort of reminder. Bridget had not taken everything when she had left. She had left for example her old converse shoes that had paint on them, she had left her scarf that she had draped over the mirror and the books that were constantly filling the shelves including the extremely battered copies of Harry Potter that she had screamed that one Christmas when Camille had given them too her.

But Bridget had always been there even when he had not noticed her. She had been the one who had cleaned up after him, had fed him, had taken over the job of a cook and cleaner and parent despite her delicate age. Had never shown him a moment of grief or teenage rebellion bar a couple of spells of underage drinking and that night she had spent in the warehouse that now housed Lexie (he carefully didn't think of Sean Roman all that much and what he didn't know and what he certainly didn't want to know) and of course the times where she had put herself in harms way—that time the father had pointed a gun at her and demanded he grab his bag while holding Mouse in a choke hold was still scarred into his brain.

Other than that she had been there, constant and dependable. He wasn't sure weather or not he could function without her physically let alone emotionally. He was being to understand the depths of how bad a cook he actually was and he found not breaking his foot tripping in the dark over a pair of boots when he came in from work distinctly unnerving.

And yet he couldn't take back his actions nor did he want too…Justin had to have some form of justice…something that would have dulled the ache and the fire and the burn of blood in him. Hank didn't want to take it back—he just wanted to make Bridget understand why he did it.

And that in no way was his revenge more important than her.

He thought that at Erin's the other week…well she might have gotten the wrong impression.

He spent most of the morning in a state of near anxiety that had nothing to do with Al's dilemma. He told himself that hope was not going to help here but the fact of the matter was that he couldn't help himself…perhaps tonight would go well and he wouldn't need to give her a huge pile of cash—perhaps she would want to see him again—maybe not to move in straight away but perhaps she'd come round. He found that he could make do with that for the time being, start off slow…

Anything had to be better than what they had right now.

His phone chimed nearly making his knee crash his knee into the top of his desk as he lunged for it in a rather undignified way. Good thing his office door was closed and his detectives all keeping their heads down as Al grew steadily snappier as time went by.

He eyed the message—it was Bridget confirming she would come back to the house after his shift was ended. There was nothing beyond the words of the text message but as this was the first text message he had gotten from her since the day that he had pulled the plug on her brother without her knowledge he took it as what it was and as a sign that perhaps they might be able to come back from this.

He sighed and stood up. Time to shake his team together before things got worse. Antonio was already asking questions and Al was getting more and more snappier. The added addition of Burgess who Al had not been completely comfortable with in Intelligence (especially because he had been the one that had the best relationship with Adam—and what went on there Hank wasn't sure himself) didn't help matters. The kid was like a fish out of water and this was only one case because she and her partner had been the one who had discovered what was going on and until he got this under control he didn't want it getting out that Al knew the guy. God knows Crawley was still looking for an excuse to take him down and she wouldn't be the only one either.

His phone remained silent for the rest of the day.

He was hyper aware of it.

* * *

He managed to get home on time. The house looked like a bombsite and admittedly he didn't know much about cleaning. Still he managed to turn it into something presentable. He got the cash out though he was hoping that he didn't have to use it. Still he had the amount that she wanted. He'd have given her a little bit more but the fact was if he pushed this then…

Well.

He put the bag down on the table.

And then he was forced to wait.

* * *

Bridget went to the door and then stopped. There was a pause where she stared at the wood. It seemed almost strange to think about how she was standing there in front of her house and wondering weather or not she should knock on the bloody front door.

Instead she went for her knees.

If she was being honest with herself there was a part of her that surprised and relieved that her father—no Hank she reminded herself firmly, she had a reason to be angry after all—had not changed the locks.

She found that the house looked…well…semi clean. She knew well enough the signs of the trash that had been taken out (probably to hide from her the amount that he had been drinking) and she knew enough to know that there was probably nothing in the fridge. She felt something that felt like a twinge of guilt but quickly before it could take root she thought of that man on his knees in the mud begging.

Bridget wanted him behind bars not dead.

Maybe that was the difference between them.

"Hi" she said finally into the silence.

"Hi" came the reply. She dropped her gaze, she didn't want to look at him until she locked away the part of her that wanted to curl up on the couch and pretended that this nightmare had not happened and that at any minute her brother would call full of news about her nephew and everything would be ok. But she couldn't. She was angry, she was hurt and she was so, so sick of the violence. Bridget had thought that she had made herself clear—she didn't want to live with the knowledge that at any time there could be a knock at the door and two people (who always resembled Peter Stone and Antonio Dawson when she came to think about it) would come and ruin her life again. She had been so sure that her father had understood that she couldn't lose anything anymore and yet he had gone and killed someone in cold blood.

There was Bridget had thought as she had tried and failed to sleep in more than one police officers house—a big difference between thinking that your father was a killer and being confronted with the facts when they were on their knees and pleading for their lives.

"You have the cash?"

"Five grand…don't ask me for more five grand is about as much as your mother left you in her trust, the rest of it's mine. I assumed you wouldn't want it"

And just like that the anger was back.

"Damn right" she muttered picking up the bag.

"I told Kevin to give you a lift to the bank tomorrow. Trust me you don't want to be walking around Chicago with that amount of money in cash. After that well…it's yours. Just…don't blow it on a sports car"

Bridget snorted despite herself.

"How's school?"

"Same…how's work? Heard about Jake McCoy."

"Yeah Al's taking it hard, they were friends for a long time, he's got a history with him. And Erin's got flowers all over her desk from someone but that's her problem to be honest with you. Kevin doesn't seem to mind you spending time with him—seems to enjoy your cooking…"

"That's relative he's dreadful. And it's nice you know…Vanessa she…she asks my opinion on things, I was gonna help her pick out a dress for her school's Winter Formal. God knows why she wants my opinion I just think Kevin's glad not to do it. He's good you know…doesn't try and push"

Her Dad raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

"Look Bridget…can we…can we just have a conversation? Please?"

"What good would it do? I mean it doesn't change anything does it?"

"Bingham killed Justin—"

"You think I don't know that? For Fucks sake Dad it was never about that—it was about the fact that I asked you to never put me in that position again! I told you my terms…I told you, It was the one thing I asked of you and you couldn't…you had to…oh there's no point to this"

And she made to move for the door.

"Oh no sweetheart finish that"

She whirled around temper bursting out of her before she could stop herself.

"We stood here and you promised me you wouldn't do anything shady. I mean I knew you were a dodgy cop years ago but this time I had to look that man in the eye and watch you—I mean—I'm now an accessory to murder not that you cared about that—you looked right through me, I was…I am your last living child and all you cared about in that moment was not comforting me despite the fact that it was my brother and the first time that we had seen each other since the previous day it was your damn revenge about me. All the time it's everything before me. Justin sent away, lying for Mom's cancer doc on the stand, forcing me to relive everything, sending Erin round whenever to tell you what's going on, spying and watching and now…you didn't even give me the choice of saying goodbye to him before you yanked his plug out…I mean…it's never me. It's never me and I don't care enough anymore I don't…I put you and Justin before me everytime including twice that I have perjured myself and I am not going to do it anymore. I got what I wanted and you got what you wanted…you don't have to worry anymore you got your revenge. Enjoy it"

And with that she slammed out the door was down the steps and in Jordan Atwater's car before she could change her mind.

* * *

"Drive" she snapped at him before she could change her mind.

"Is my driving even legal?"

"You have a license and a valid driver with you in the car now drive before I hit you or cry on you"

"I can be a good source of comfort"

"Jordan…"

"Hey you asked me to give you a lift you know."

"I know. Just…drive somewhere"

Jordan put his foot down.

"Hey Bridget, do you want ice cream? It makes me feel better you know when I get sad?"

Bridget wiped her eyes.

"Sure."

"Can you pay? I mean technically you're rich now"

Bridget stared at him and then laughed.

Jordan grinned at her flashing his teeth.

It felt good to laugh.

Tomorrow she would ring Lexie and ask to see about that room where she lived now.

As she told her Dad.

It was time to move on as best she could.

* * *

 **And there you are.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and i will update sooner rather later.**

 **Next Chapter-** **As Hank deals with his daughter's views he must also contend with a rapist on the loose and a cop killer on the loose. Bridget meanwhile goes to a party and decides to be bad as she prepares to move on with her life.**


	33. Pain Killers

**Hi, so here is another chapter and there is defiantly one more following it. There are about seven more chapters of this story after the publication of these two left to write and I apologise for the delay but work has just restarted after the summer and it's been hectic so therefore some updates might be slower.**

 **Some trigger warnings for sex, drugs and underage drinking.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And let me know what you think.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 33-Pain Killers

As Hank deals with his daughter's views he must also contend with a rapist on the loose and a cop killer on the loose. Bridget meanwhile goes to a party and decides to be bad as she prepares to move on with her life.

* * *

The days afterwards were not good. Hank had to deal with a rapist possibly walking free due to the star witness being shot as well as the constant tension that had sprung up between half of his department. He had no idea what was going on with Jay and Erin—in fact he made it a point not to ask because he rather didn't want to know—but he knew that Erin had been receiving flowers from the last prison that Jimmy had been in. Weather or not Jimmy was actually Erin's Dad was a conversation for another time but Hank had admitted to himself more than once that perhaps Erin might not have the issues that she did if Bunny had been the one sent down for the long stretch instead of the man who claimed to be her father.

And that was before he got to the festering sore that was his relationship with his daughter which he supposed was now well and truly in tatters.

God how had it come to this?

"I take it, it didn't go well?" Al asked him as they were coming back from checking out a rather pointless lead. Hank didn't insult his friend by asking him what it was that he was on about. Al had been the only person who had known about what had gone down last night with his daughter especially.

"No…she…she said a lot of things. Turns out I'm a crappy father"

"You're not that Hank"

"No? Well…she certainly told me as much that night…she told me…well…I gave her five grand or so in cash Al, should tell you how that ended out that night"

"You are not a bad father. You lost your son, you dealt with it. Bridget…well…time will make her understand that"

"You think it's that simple? Trust me. Time does not make Bridget understand what is going on right now. Time has made her even more convinced that I am the devil incarnate."

"Time will make her understand that she's not perfect. Look…Hank…you know that Lexie has moved out? Well she was talking the other night. Hank I genuinely believe that she thinks that Bridget is going to move out with her and that there all going to be some sort of happy rent free teenagers on the town for weeks on end."

That did get to him. He had heard nothing from Kevin's daily casual briefings on his daughter—where his officer pretending that this didn't mean anything and Hank pretended that it didn't mean everything in the world to him either. Neither one of them were convincing themselves but Kevin it seemed during these conversations had found a point on Hank's wall where he could stare at so that…helped matters somewhat.

Well he supposed it didn't change the awkwardness of the situation but Kevin had told him that Bridget seemed to be doing her schoolwork and was in the house at a reasonable hour and that she had deposited the cash in a bank account which he supposed showed signs that his daughter was being responsible.

"Al…can we not…not right now. Because right now we have to get this piece of shit off the streets and I don't see how if we cannot connect him to the murder"

Al didn't say anything else but his friend didn't have to. Hank could feel the disapproval coming off him in waves. Of course it hadn't been that long ago since he had been at odds with Lexie. Hank didn't feel the need to point that out however. He'd save it for when his team really annoyed him.

He put the car in reverse and drove off.

* * *

"Jesus fucking Christ"

Lexie looked up from where she was comparing two shades of blue and wondering which was the best to paint her toenails to see Bridget staring at her.

"You sure this place isn't a fire hazard waiting to happen?"

Lexie rolled her eyes.

"Found you way here then?"

"Lexie your sharing a bathroom with four people."

"Yeah and the college experience is going to be much better. Look you little nerd downstairs there's this room where you can do quiet studying and I've been here and had no issues with the boys. Most of them are like us. Kids trying to live their lives free from restraints."

"You sound like a bad romance novel promoting the idea of running away. Ugh Lexie was that a spider?"

"Yeah there are a few of them, there like the dealers on the second floor you ignore them"

"If Uncle Al could hear you now"

Lexie levelled her friend with a long look.

"But he's not, that's the point. This is a year when we can figure out who we are and what we want to do. Look you and I both know you can get into an Ivy League College with your eyes closed. So why don't you have some fun while your at it? Admit it you liked it when you were hear the last time and you got some male attention from someone who didn't know that you were Hank Voight's daughter"

Bridget's silence said it all. Lexie was adapt at reading her best friend. Had been for years really. Bridget stared at the wall for a second outside of the room where people had scrawled the Shakespeare quotes on the wall.

"I don't really want to be good at the minute" she said finally. "I feel things I don't want to. I don't want to feel the loss of Justin, I want to feel something other than the all encompassing grief that I feel and the rage…fuck me Lex there's so much anger in me. And I don't know why nor do I want to know why"

Lexie stared at her friend for a long moment her heart heaving in pain. She had known Justin Voight for as long as her whole life. She had had a crush on him when she'd been a teenager, he had picked her up when she'd first gotten drunk and she too had sat in Bridget's bedroom and called Gabby and Antonio Dawson names when they and the rest of Firehouse 51 had gone after Justin and then later her best friends father. She wanted to hug Bridget but her friend had never been big on physical contact and she didn't want to push the mood that Bridget was already in. Cleaning up when a member of the Voight family got angry was never pretty—she had learnt that lesson from her father first-hand.

"You know what you need?"

"If you say move into this house of kindling with you then so help me…"

"No…well yeah you do but you need something more than that at this moment. You need a makeover. Come on. Downstairs there's a couple of girls training at some salon we could never afford to go to otherwise."

That night there was a party thrown. Bridget got the opinion that this happened more than once a week. To be honest she wasn't sure how Lexie was still in school what with all the noise that was surrounding her. But she found as she was handed a beer and then another and then a couple of shots that she knocked back, that she didn't care. She did wonder briefly as a boy in his twenties who identified himself as Harrison spun her around—weather or not this was what Erin had felt like when she had gone off the rails. If it was then Bridget was going to have to revise her opinion of that period in Erin's life. Because right now shutting her eyes and refusing to feel as she ran a hand through her new short hair cut (taken from her back to the top of her shoulders in one clean swoop) was rather liberating.

Even the outfit was liberating. After much needling from Lexie (that had gotten worse over the years since Bridget had developed longer legs) she had allowed Lexie to dress her in a pair of high waisted shorts and a sleeveless thick strappy lacey top and her own pair of boots. Lexie had done her make up and when she was dancing Bridget for the first time could apricate the fact that she was attracting attention.

Lexie had already disappeared up the back stairs with someone and she sat down running a hand through her shortened hair and feeling the vodka hit the back of her throat.

"Hey" said a voice next to her and she turned to see a taller, older man than Harrison who was watching her with a smile that suddenly she didn't want to ignore.

"Hey" she said uncrossing her legs and watching as the boy followed every movement that she made.

"Ben"

"Bridget"

"You wanna go somewhere else then Bridget?"

It took her a second to decide what she wanted.

"Yeah"

Ben grinned at her.

They made it upstairs into an empty bedroom. Bridget saw the pills and the vodka on the desk and grinned. Well if she was going to throw everything to hell she may as well do it with style. She imagined her Dad's expression and then grinned. Well he'd made his choice—she could damn well make hers.

There was a pause where she stood there and then she turned reaching for her short buttons.

"Get me some pills before yeah?"

Ben grinned.

Bridget grinned back and tried to pretend that it hide the hollowness that was inside her.

* * *

When she woke up that morning it was to a blinding headache, an ache between her legs and a tattooed guy half on top of her. Her phone was next to her underwear and she noticed as she reached for it that there was a news pop up.

She stared at it without reading it and decided that whatever it was it could wait. The world could wait, the pain that she was feeling could wait. She didn't have the energy to care about what was going on in the world. She wanted to forget who she was and why she was here—the best place to do that was with…Ben was his name wasn't it?

But firstly, she had to go and find Lexie…and something to eat…and then possibly throw up.

When she staggered back to Kevin's she was exhausted and pretty convinced that despite a long shower she had had in that surprisingly well-equipped bathroom she was still grimy. She sank into the shower wall and thanked whoever it was up there that Kevin had invested in a decent shower with some good hot water and a button that made the water hit the sore muscles in her back.

She took a moment to apricate what she had done the night before. She had taken…well…who knew what she had taken, actually who knew was kinda the problem when she came to think upon it.

She was Bridget Voight for crying out loud! She didn't do things like that. She didn't get drunk and strung out or have sex with strange men. Hell, up until recently she didn't even do the latter. And now here she was throwing away everything to focus on doing the things that once upon a time she could have never imagined herself doing.

She bit her lip sinking to bottom of the shower and running a hand through her short wet hair.

She didn't want to feel anything right now. If she felt the grief of loosing Justin, of her father choosing his revenge over being there for her when she had needed him so desperately, from the fact that she knew Erin thought she was being unfair.

Well she thought bitterly, Erin had always considered herself more of her father's daughter than Bridget had done herself and if Erin wanted to deal with Hank Voight then Erin was welcome to it. She swallowed back the bile clogging up her throat and then she forced herself to stand on shaky legs.

Lexie she decided was right. For once she was going to put herself first.

Bridget Voight was going to be bad.

* * *

 **And there you are. I hope you enjoy and I will publish as soon as.**

 **Next Chapter-Intelligence gains a new member, Bridget and Hank have another row. Jordan Atwater accidently causes trouble and Hank tries to pretend that this estrangement is killing him...by doing exactly the wrong thing. **


	34. Measure Of Men

**Hi, so here is another chapter and it follows straight after the previous one. Again i'm sorry for the delay in updating but here it is.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 34-Measure Of Men

Intelligence gains a new member. Bridget and Hank have another row. Jordan Atwater accidently causes trouble and Hank tries to pretend that this estrangement isn't killing him by doing…probably the wrong thing.

* * *

Hank pretended that the blow wasn't the worst he'd taken since Justin. The loss of two cops and the fact that the perp had been the son of a cop had been news for weeks in the aftermath of the case and yet…and yet…

He had not heard from his daughter once.

It had been the hardest thing to take. From the first time she could use a phone whenever a cop had been shot his daughter had texted him, had rung him, had come to see him as if she needed proof that it wasn't him. As if Camille's word hadn't been enough and she had given up all pretence of not worrying when her mother had died. Even when she'd been mad at me she had texted him. It had been a comfort to him.

And now…

Well…it had hurt so much he could barely breathe.

That night when he had gotten home after…after it all, had been a…dark one to say the least.

And if the pounding in his head had been any indication as well as the throbbing in his back, he had gotten shitfaced on the scotch and had passed out on his couch.

And he was really getting too old for that shit.

So he was not in the mood to hear that in the midst of a post-breakup one of his officers had decided to go undercover at the drop of the hat. The only plus was that he knew the guy coming into his department. Rixton was a good cop and had narrowly avoided an indictment himself for simply not knowing what was going on. The fact that dirty cops knew that he was a stand up guy worked in his favour and Hank trusted that above all else.

He was also not in the mood to deal with Kim Burgess and her failed engagement or whatever the hell had gone wrong there. She could take Adam's replacement on the chin. He had bigger things to worry about.

He didn't know how much bigger the things were that he had to worry about until he caught Jordan Atwater leaning around the top of the stairs with a morose expression on his face. Actually caught wasn't the word for it. He was in a hurry and the kid was sat on the stairs—he nearly trampled him.

"Can I help you?"

"Depends. You any good at talking to your daughter and convincing her that we will starve without her when she leaves?"

Hank nearly collided with the door. He turned around grabbed Jordan by the arm and pulled him down the stairs so that they were out of the way.

"What do you mean when she leaves? Since when was Bridget leaving?"

"I found her this morning packing up her stuff. She says she's going to live with Lexie at this party warehouse place, she's cut all her hair off you know. And she's wearing shorts."

Hank stared at him. There was a glazed look on Jordan Atwater's face that he hoped for the boy's sake never appeared when his daughter was mentioned again. He gave him ten seconds and then coughed. Jordan immediately looked sombre.

"When is she moving out"

"Tonight I think. She was still in bed when I left…she kinda looked like hell. I don't think she was planning to go to school, she was out late last night with Lexie. Kevin wasn't in either so he didn't know "

Hank took that into mean that Bridget had spent the night partying and drinking with Lexie who was He looked at his watch. Well…he had the time he supposed.

"Jordan get back to school before Kevin knows you're here. I will handle Bridget"

Yeah handle Bridget.

That would be the fucking day.

* * *

Bridget had taken most of her bags and had deposited them in the empty room and then she had gone and found Ben at the Starbucks he worked at, that had been a rather good hour or so with the promise of more vodka and sex with a man older than her and she had then taken the subway home to make Kevin some farewell meal packages. She was not planning on a long goodbye here. Jordan and Vanessa knew she was leaving and she expected that Kevin himself had not thought that this scenario would last for long. She couldn't keep intruding on a family…it was time for her to stand on her own feet—well she'd been doing that for a long time. Two more weeks and there was nothing nobody could do to stop her.

She would finally be eighteen.

And free.

But of course, whenever her father was concerned nothing was simple.

She was walking up the path when she heard the door to the car slam behind her and she knew without turning around who it was.

"Bridget"

"What?" she said turning around to face her father with the air of someone who didn't want to be there. In all fairness there had been a lot of vodka last night and she was sure there was still body glitter under her fingernails.

"I'll tell you what…why the hell I am hearing from Jordan Atwater that you plan to move into an unchaperoned drugs den with Lexie?"

"You didn't put up this much of a fuss when Lexie was moving in there…and what do you mean why didn't I tell you? I don't want to speak to you, obviously"

She made to turn away but before she could her father spoke.

"Yeah well it aint gonna happen"

"Oh yeah it is. And if you do anything to stop this from happening then I will personally make it so that your back in prison. You've ruined enough of my life already don't you think?"

There was a horribly long pause.

"Bridget get in the damn car"

"No"

There was another long pause. Something seemed to shift between the two of them. Bridget stared at him and wondered weather or not there was anything left between the two of them. There was no going back from this moment and she wondered if she was actually brave enough to go forwards with it.

But the pain was so strong she wanted it numbed. Justin, her Mom, constantly feeling like she was second best, feeling like she was being smothered constantly. She was so tired…

"Go home. Go to Erin. You've wanted her as your daughter for years…Justin's dead and you got rid of him when it became to hard anyway. Just do the same with me. Let us both go. Or I swear to God the next time we meet I will be confessing where Bingham's body is and the fact that you asked me to lie about Reybold."

There was another long pause. Bridget had spoken softly enough but there was something in the way that she had spoken and she knew that her…that Hank had picked up on it.

"So that's how you want to play it"

She had to give him credit. His face was inscrutable.

"Yeah. Stay the hell away from me and I will do the same for you. Erin can clean up your mess. I am done."

And with that she turned around and walked steadily into the house and shut the door behind her, locked it, waited for exactly ten seconds and then surrendered to a storm of tears.

* * *

In hindsight it was probably a very bad idea. But then again hindsight was never a strong thing for him. Not when it came to this…not when it came to his children. He was more of a spur of the moment kind of person and well…he had to admit that nearly all of those decisions had come back to kick him in the backside spectacularly.

There was no doubt that this one would do the same kind of damage as well. Bridget was going to hit the roof when she found out that he was here asking for help, talking about her on her behalf. There was always going to be some kind of fallback to anything to do with his daughter now but if there was someway to put the pause button on the way his relationship with her was rapidly deteriorating then he would jump at the chance to do so.

Of course the saddest part of it was that if Bridget got mad at him—if she got so mad at him that she hit the roof and back then—then maybe she would think about breaking her promise of never speaking or seeing him again. Even a row with her was better than nothing…and yes, at this point Hank could fully admit even to himself that it was really fucking pathetic.

But here he was.

The case had of course ended with the right person behind bars. He had a sneaking suspicion that Bunny Fletcher was trying to get her hooks back into Erin (and this time using her father as an excuse which was—desperate to say the least if Hank's memory was correct) which would cause him no end of trouble and there was still no word on what Adam was doing on this undercover gig that he had practically forced himself on as to avoid seeing Kim.

But it had been a long couple of days and the nights…well…he'd had some dark nights but these? These had been the darkest since…

He paused. He would not think of Camille right now nor would he think about how much Bridget had looked like her with her short hair. She could have passed for a younger version of her mother even more now, beautiful, wilful, vicious. She'd had her mother's temper and her mother's sweet nature. Camille could scare the shit out of him when she'd been mad but she'd been a slow boil before she hit the pot. He and Justin had been more of a punch first ask questions later types of people. Bridget had been…cruel…and that perhaps out of everything the most unnerving thing to come out of this estrangement between the two of them.

He had never really seen Bridget vicious before. He had seen her angry—oh yeah he had seen that on many occasions—but never had he seen her like she'd been today, lashing out and snapping, saying things that she knew would hurt him and grinning all the while as if she wanted nothing more to do but to see his reaction, to see if she was getting to him. Not to mention this whole moving into some glorified crack house with Lexie had disaster written all over it for both girls.

Seriously what the hell had Al and Meredith been thinking? Surely, they must have known that Lexie would have turned to Bridget? Even Hank had known that and up until a week ago he'd not even known that Lexie had actually gone through with the plan to move out!

It had taken a considerable amount of willpower to keep his emotions in check and it had taken him a good ten minutes before he could drive as he couldn't get his hands to stop shaking. Already he was calculating how much scotch he had in his house and how much he could get his hands on and how much he could drink without getting the frequent concerned looks from Al and Erin.

He paused again before he knocked on the door.

God she was going to hate him for this wasn't she?

"Enter" came a voice that Hank had known for a long time now. A voice that he despite everything trusted. He opened the door.

"Doctor Charles"

"Hank…how can I help you?"

Hank took a moment to carefully consider what he was going to say next. This could go wrong…this could go very, very wrong indeed.

 _(But he just wanted her to talk to him)_

"It's Bridget. I need you to talk to her. I think she might need some help"

* * *

 **And there you are. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Next Chapter-** **Bridget attempts to put some semblance of her life back on track but she get's an unwelcome run in at her Starbucks. Hank works a series of cases and realises that Bunny causing trouble (learning something interesting in the process) and Bridget tries to not grieve. It doesn't work…**


	35. That's Me Trying

**Hi so here is another chapter and i hope to update sooner rahter than later. Also the next chapter will be a lot larger and a lot more emotional so it might take some time to work out the kinks.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this chapter.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 35-That's Me Trying

Bridget attempts to put some semblance of her life back on track but she get's an unwelcome run in at her Starbucks. Hank works a series of cases and realises that Bunny causing trouble (learning something interesting in the process) and Bridget tries to not grieve. It doesn't work…

* * *

Bridget gave her another weekend and then she sobered up and went back to school. She forced herself to sit in class with her eyeliner and her new haircut and focus on work. As soon as she could she was getting the hell out of Chicago and far away from Hank Voight. She wanted nothing more to do than to go away and pretend that she wasn't bleeding with some sort of pain when she woke up and realised that she was breaking in two.

She didn't want to grieve. She wanted to sleep and drink and pretend that everything was ok. It was denial at the best of times but at night when Ben came to her room with a coffee or with something to drink with or on a Friday night a little pill that made her sleep without seeing Justin's head smack back as the bullet entered his skull and when he took her to bed then she didn't care. She could feel something other than pain when she was with him and it kept her grounded even if she knew that deep down he was not the right man for her.

Ben for the most part didn't care. He was a tattoo artist or a junior one or something by trade and he drew a design for her and then after school inked it into her skin. She stared at the shapes on her upper thigh and tried to feel something other than the dread that came when she woke up the next morning and realised she was down a brother, a mother and that her father had chosen revenge over comforting her.

Erin rang occasionally but Bridget let them ring to voicemail and then deleted the messages, she also took the same practice with her Dad. Anything after three AM and she reckoned he was drunk anyway. The rest of it she didn't want to hear. She didn't want to do anything.

But she forced herself to go to school and work on her homework and with the autumn season changing she found herself in the coffee shop on Saturday working on an essay some toast and a latte with pumpkin spice.

And just when she thought that she was good in her own head then she felt a shadow hanging over her (both literally and metaphorically). And that was the exact moment when it went to shit. The exact moment when she looked up she saw Doctor Charles from Chicago Med standing there with a coffee in his hand and a smile that for a reason she couldn't put her finger on made her teeth go on edge and her hands clench into fists under the table.

She didn't think that running into a physiatrist in the middle of the day at a Saturday was a coincidence especially one that had a great relationship with her father.

There was another long pause.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked finally. Doctor Charles apparently took that as an invitation to sit down at the table opposite her. She paused taking it in and then took a sip of her coffee.

"I was wondering if you'd like to talk"

"About?"

"Justin, your Mom perhaps…I know that things have been tough, I heard that you'd moved out and that you weren't talking to you Dad"

"How the hell did you…"

But before she finished the sentence it had clicked.

Because there was only really one person who had the balls to go to a damn shrink.

For a second she was so angry she couldn't breathe.

How dare he. How dare he!

She was silent for a second and then once she was sure that she had herself under control she forced herself to speak. She was almost how surprised at how calm her voice came out when she finally did regain the power of speech.

"What did my Dad tell you?"

Doctor Charles had both the grace to look discomforted and the grace to not continue the charade. Bridget supposed there was something to be said for beating a dead horse to death…or something like that anyway.

"He said that you'd been struggling for a while. And that you were making some decisions that he didn't like. And that he wanted me to see if you needed any help as if was clear you didn't want it off him"

Bridget ran a finger down her latte glass contemplating silently for a second how much she hated her father in that moment. Actually the depth of it was quite frightening. Not even the insipid Dawson siblings had manged to make her feel like this and she had seriously thought about slashing Matt Casey's and Peter Stones tires on more than one occasion over the course of the years.

"I don't" she said finally forcing a smile onto her face.

"I'm fine"

"Are you though?"

"Yes."

"Bridget—"

"I moved out, as kids do, I didn't want to live with my Dad anymore. And I lost my brother true. I don't like being a target, I want to be free of him and the shit he brings home with him. I have told him all of this and I am sorry Doctor Charles but I think you must have this mistaken, I don't need help…I've never needed help and If I do need then I can assure you after this little conversation I will most certainly not be coming to you" she smiled as her tone got increasingly sweeter and bitcher. Lexie would have been proud.

Doctor Charles looked at her.

"You don't look ok" he said finally.

"Are you going to commit me?"

"Wha—no"

"Good, then stay away from me and seeing as you and my father are so close tell him that if he ever pulls this shit again I will personally have Internal Affairs hand him the restraining order myself"

And with that she grabbed her books and stormed off shaking so much she could barely see in front of her.

She rang Lexie.

God she had no idea what she would do without her best friend. Right now she was the one person Bridget knew was on her side.

(And if she was being honest with herself she needed someone to talk her out of going to the police station to confront her father—or hand him in for murder)

* * *

Doctor Charles had rang him straight from the off.

Hank could have thought of a million and one ways the good Doctor could have done this without it involving him swooping down on Bridget like a bird but he supposed he was expecting the answer he got.

"What the hell made you think that was a good idea?" Erin yelled at him when he told her.

Hank shrugged.

"Honestly Hank she's never gonna speak to you again at this rate…I mean…are you seriously trying to ensure that's the only outcome, she's a confused, grieving teenager and you've just told her that because she disapproves of murder she needs psychiatric help!"

That wasn't entirely what had happened but Hank was too tired and too beaten down to talk through it with Erin.

Erin sighed leaning back in her chair as they watched the perp they were supposed to be staking out. She ran a hand through her hair and down her face.

"Bunny paid me a visit" she said finally. "I yelled at her about Jimmy and she told me that last year when your car was blown up Bridget paid her a visit and threw her up against the wall"

Hank nearly spat a mouthful of coffee all over his upholstery.

"She did what?" he asked amazed.

Erin nodded. "Said Bridget said that if Bunny ever tried any shit like that she'd kill her and that everyone would take her side because she was your daughter—so Bridget's changed her moral high ground once or twice"

Hank stared at her.

"And your mother believed that? A sixteen year old? God she must be losing her touch"

Erin forced back a smile.

"Hank are you sure you don't want me to talk to her?"

"No…Erin I know how that conversation is gonna go. Right now she's angry, you will get angry, Lexie will get angry and then it's gonna be World War III. Besides in a week she turns eighteen and…and if she crosses state lines I can't stop her. At least here I can keep an eye on her"

Erin shot him a look and made a move as if she wanted to touch him but thought better of it.

"Hank this is pathetic you know…she's not gonna report you. It's Bridget. We know her. She's a kid, she's messed up now but she's Bridget. Just have her picked up and demand that she listen to you. Or give her a bit of tough love"

Hank shook his head. It was difficult to tell Erin that Bridget was all that he had left in a way. That if he lost her then…even this was better than never seeing her again knowing that she was under the cold earth…

He shook his head because thinking about that hurt too much.

There was another heartbeat of silence as he acknowledged what she had said about Erin. That had hurt most of all. But what he knew despite everything was that his daughter had been cruel and vicious and mean and yet at the end of the day there was nothing that she could do that would damage the never ending, never dimming bright love that he felt for her.

* * *

Bridget and Lexie were sat on the roof of the house watching the streets below. For once both of them were slightly more sober than usual. Lexie had been full of righteous indignation over what had happened but Bridget wondered how much of Lexie thought that she was hitting the rails.

But it didn't matter. Bridget could cry in front of Lexie in a way that she couldn't do in front of anyone else and Lexie had dragged her onto the roof and wrapped her in her arms and let her sob and scream and acknowledge that despite everything she still loved her father, the last member of her family that she had.

Finally once she was done the two of them had sat on the roof and watched the cars pass by and had distracted themselves with what they were going to do once they graduated and more to the point what they were going to do when Bridget turned eighteen at the end of next week.

And yet that still hadn't took Bridget's mind of her father. As angry as she was at him she did wonder if he was being safe. Two cops had been shot a week ago. There had never been a time where she had not called him when that had happened.

"Bridget" Lexie said softly. "Turn your brain off. I can hear it from here. It's annoying."

Bridget laughed and took a sip from Lexie's hip flask and they spent the rest of the night talking about Ben and Lexie's new interest Harrison and laughing and giggling.

Lexie she decided that night as she slipped into bed alone and mostly sober for the first time in a long time was her best friend, she was her sounding board. Hell there were times when they were each other's confessors. They were friends from birth until the end.

Bridget thought that night as she went to sleep that she had no idea what she would do without Lexie. She rolled over and thought that it was ridiculous that she was even thinking it. Nothing was going to happen. She was being silly by even thinking about it.

* * *

 **And there you are. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget turns eighteen. Hank gets a phone call in the middle of the night that changes his life. Lexie and Bridget fight for their lives and the aftermath sees one member of the Chicago family fighting for her life and the other one dead.**


	36. Up In Smoke

**Hi, so here is another chapter. I hope that this chapter is too your liking as I went though an emotional roller-coaster to write it.**

 **As always I hope you enjoy it and I will endeavour to update it sooner rather than later with the second half of this chapter. Upon the posting of this chapter there are six more chapters to this story left.**

 **Also I am not a medical expert so any inaccuracies on that account and I apologise.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Some trigger warnings for this chapter. If you have seen the episodes on Chicago Fire/PD/Med/Justice you will know why.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

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Bridget

Chapter 36-Up In Smoke

Bridget turns eighteen. Hank gets a call in the middle of the night that changes his life, Lexie and Bridget both fight for their lives and the aftermath sees one member of the Chicago family fighting for her life and another one near death.

* * *

The day that Bridget turned eighteen she didn't really remember. Lexie had insisted the whole house come out and celebrate even though there was another party scheduled for the end of the week. There had been gifts that she had brought as well and Bridget thought rather cynically that she must be in trouble of sinking if Erin sent her present by Lexie. She didn't care though—she had needed new boots.

She didn't ring her Dad and he sent her a voice message that she listened too that night when she was lying on her bed having drunk an entire bottle of cheep champagne. He had called her to wish her a happy birthday and then his tone had taken on something of a more wistful tone in which he had told her that he had called just to hear her voice. This had sent her too tears and had Ben not come in with another bottle and two glasses she knew that she would have called him back. Because despite all the shit that she had gone through, that she had said and done she missed him.

The next day at school she had forced back the urge to sleep and had staggered through the day. What was the point in weeping she told herself sternly in the mirror in the girls toilets. She had chosen to take this path, there was no point moping over her burnt bridges.

She could Lexie didn't agree with this analogy but she didn't press on it. Only once did she remark that perhaps Bridget should go and see someone and Bridget thankfully pretended that she was sleeping and didn't acknowledge that she knew deep down she was drowning and she didn't know how she was going to rise up again. She thought about ringing Erin the day before the party that had been promised. Erin was the only person who knew some of what she was going through and Erin had known what it had been like being Hank's daughter and losing a mother and a brother and in some respect a father.

But as soon as she thought about this she discarded it. She knew Erin, she knew what Erin would do. She would tell Bridget to go and talk to Hank and then if Bridget refused she would go and do it herself. The least thing she needed was her father finding out that she was depressed. He'd have her committed.

Besides. It was not her fault that she felt like this. She knew that.

* * *

Ben had gone to get them drinks, the party had just gotten wild and Lexie with a wink and a quick hug went upstairs to change her shoes. Bridget winked at her back and hugged her breathing in between the stench of sweat and booze the scent of her friends shampoo and her perfume. There was a pause where she stood there and then someone bumped into her as she was swaying a little. She turned but she could only see the back of a blonde head and a puffy jacket.

She shook her head and moved towards the stairs a little to the third floor thinking that Ben could meet her there with the drinks and Lexie could join them.

Bridget didn't realise it but it was the last time she would see either one of them alive again because as she was stood there staring at the wall covered with Shakespeare quotes where she had first met a cute boy and had been annoyed at her father, all hell broke loose.

* * *

His phone was what woke him. Hank stretched for a second and then realised that once again he had woken up on his couch in the early hours of the morning because he had been drinking well into the night. God his back was going to pack up again if he kept this going.

He reached for his phone on the floor scrabbling around for it and for a wonderful second he thought that perhaps his daughter was ringing him.

It wasn't though, it was Al. It looked like he had caught a new case.

"Yeah"

"Hank…Hank…Hank!"

There was something in his best friends voice that made him sit up awake and alert and his heart wrenching in something like terror. He had only heard Al like this once before and that had involved a case where the bastards had held Meredith at gunpoint.

"What" he said after he had forced himself to speak.

"It's the warehouse Hank, it's on fire. It's…it's on fire, half of Chicago Fire Department is here and…I haven't seen either one of girls and Lexie's not picking up her phone neither's Bridget. They think…they think a lot of people are dead. It's…Hank get down here now"

Hank was out the door in ten seconds and suspected dimly he might have broken every speed limit in Chicago to get there. When he did…words failed him.

It was like a scene from hell.

* * *

Bridget had been on the third floor. The blast had knocked her back into the wall and she noticed dimly that the stairs had collapsed a little. There was also something very wrong about the way her knee looked but she was too out of it to care. The smoke and the screaming and the banging assaulted her brain and she was aware that she was alone on the third floor as fire raged above her and below her.

She looked around feeling the ash and rubble and dust under her fingernails. Fingernails just this morning Lexie had painted red. She stood up and nearly vomited. The pain that her knee was in was so strong she had to grip onto the edge of something to stand and then pull back because it was so hot she couldn't hold it. She moved to the stairs that Lexie on the fifth floor would have had to get up. Come hell or high water Bridget was leaving with her friend. She tugged at the banister trying to grip on but now her ribs were beginning to twinge and she couldn't breathe or see due to the smoke.

She tugged a little again and the banister collapsed. Something from upstairs came down through a hole in the roof and she flung herself backwards before she swore and screamed all in one.

It was a body of a boy not much older than her. His eye was open the other one consumed by burns and the ghost of a smile still etched on half of the face that Bridget could see. She noticed that fire was coming through the side of the floor that was wood, it had in the moments she had been unconscious grown more and more. There were no rooms on this floor, it had been dedicated entirely to people's art and it was now burning. The other side she was pressed against was glass.

And she was three floors up.

Bridget took only a second to contemplate and acknowledge that she did want to die burning. There was one thing for it. She took off her singed jacket, it had been wrapped around her waist—it had she realised, been Ben's checked sweatshirt that she had taken mistakenly no doubt when she had staggered out of his room this morning. Other than that she was wearing nothing but Lexie's ass hugging shorts, a tank top and her new boots. She rammed her good leg boot first into the glass. Two kicks and a bit of vomit later there was some glass out of the window. She wrapped her hand around the jacket and used her hand and elbow to do the rest. The glass was so hot, the air so cool and Bridget knew this was the moment where she lived or died.

There was a garbage disposal beneath her. It would she suspected if she hit it right, catch most of the fall. She shot one anguished look to where Lexie was gone and prayed that her friend had found some place to hide, that the fire upstairs was not as bad as she thought it was and that the department of firefighters that were no doubt amassing downstairs would get to Lexie before the fire did. Her fire was coming now. She had no choice.

She sat on the edge of the ledge feeling the cool air.

Bridget took a second for courage and to acknowledge that she really, _really_ wanted her Dad.

And then she jumped.

* * *

Matt Casey had seen fires, hell he lived them. And while all fires were bad there were some that stuck in your mind as the worst ones imaginable. He had been a teenager when he had seen the towers in New York and the men working them, he had been a green recruit when he had been involved in two building collapses that had killed nine firefighters, there had been Andy, Danny, Jimmy, Shay, Boden's scars and Mills Dad. This he knew without even knowing the total death toll was going to keep him up at night when he had trouble sleeping.

Boden had gone back in. He knew that Otis and Cruz and Hermann were desperate to go back in too. Leaving people in a building that was still on fire was not something that they liked to do. There job was to save everyone not to leave anyone. Pulling back because the fire was too strong was a call he hoped that he never had to make.

It didn't help that Bridget and Lexie were still in there.

He had met Bridget a couple of times but the time that stood so vividly in his mind was the trial of Hank and Justin. Both times he had been called to give evidence and both times she had been there. She had looked at him—only at him when he had took the stand and she had not been angry with him, he knew enough to know she had saved the disgust for Antonio but she had regarded him curiously as if he was a book that she wasn't sure she wanted to read. She had stared at him so much that by the end of it he had felt bad. He had never known that Voight had a daughter, Antonio had never told him that there was a daughter. He wasn't sure if that would change anything for him but then again…

Al's daughter he knew on sight alone. He had never spoken to her.

And both were trapped in there and Matt knew enough to know that the odds of them getting out alive now were not good.

Al was on his left staring at the fire and muttering under his breath. Twice he had tried to make a run for it. Voight on his right however had not moved since he'd got there. He didn't seem to be breathing. Actually this delayed reaction Matt knew was a surprise. He'd been expecting Voight to be angry not look like his world was shattered. Angry Voight he had seen before and he knew how to handle…a Voight on the edge of despair like the kind that was etched onto his face was something he never wanted to see again.

And then the Chief was back. One girl Kelly had was blonde and the other Matt saw was Lexie. He overheard Gabby working, saw without seeing Al go to his daughter and the ambulance take off and then decided that he didn't have it in him to watch the Chief break the news to Voight that his daughter was dead.

And then out of the corner of his eye through the smoke he saw it.

For a second he thought he was imagining it. Fire did funny things to you and this was the product of wishful thinking at best.

He took two steps forwards and then another and then he was in front of her.

Bridget Fucking Voight. Alive.

Well he was damned.

She was leaning against the edge of the car. Her knee and ankle on her right leg were he'd hazard a guess dislocated and broken. She was clutching her ribs with one hand and in the other a sweater which was wrapped around her knuckles were he guessed she was bleeding profusely. She was covered in dust and ash and her head was bleeding a little and she stared at him for a second and then fell into him.

He caught her around the waist and started dragging her back a little.

"Voight! Chief!"

The two looked up it took Matt a second to realise that the Chief had had his hand on Voight's back as Voight had sunk almost to the floor.

For a second the two of them stared and then as Hank Voight got to his feet leaning a bit heavily on the Chief's arm his daughter's eyes rolled back violently and then she collapsed in Matt's arm.

He lowered her gently to the ground and then was pushed back as Voight got there. He thought that perhaps he might go and see if there was a spare ambulance or if they could take her in the truck themselves or if the Chief needed him to do anything or even if Kelly needed him to do anything—anything he thought rather desperately blinking back the water in his eyes that he wanted to believe came from the smoke and knew that they weren't—other than to hear Hank Voight begging his daughter to wake up, his voice breaking on every word.

* * *

Being an ER Doctor in Chicago meant that Will Halstead was used to sleepless nights, increasing violence and blood. That was what you signed up for. He was used to doing this.

Tonight, had made his residency look like child's play.

He'd lost sight of Natalie in the crush, Ethan was working like a madman on two boys one whose leg was gone in burns who was screaming that they help his brother, April and Maggie were directing troops like an invading army. Goodwin had forgotten she was running the place and was instead in Trauma Two with Reese and even Doctor Charles was directing labs rather than his usual job. Every volunteer that could get in was in the waiting room dealing with parents, nearly everyone had been under twenty seven.

Will was dealing with Lexie Olinsky. There were burns on about forty percent of the girls body and more had penetrated the tissue. Her lungs were practically black with soot and dust. Will knew enough—had seen enough to know that deep down their options for this silly, nineteen year old who still had so much to live for was limited.

And then Bridget Voight came in.

Thank God Conner took that one. Will had been in that house with Bridget Voight and then at the apartment that night Jay had wanted him to do surgery in the middle of a gun fight. He had wrapped one arm around his patient and the other around Bridget as they had listened and prayed that the men that they loved would come through this without a scratch. He wasn't sure if he was ready to look at that girl and determine with his best medical opinion weather or not she was going to live or die.

By the time he had gotten Lexi stabled and then updated her mother and father he could see Conner duck into the Doctors Lounge where Goodwin in her infinite wisdom had seen to it that bottled water was there. He watched as Conner took a long gulp of water.

"Is she alive?" he asked.

"Yeah. Voight around?"

"Hasn't left. Erin's with him. Al's daughter's probably not gonna wake up"

Conner shook his head.

"How bad?" Will asked finally.

"Leg's been dislocated and the ankles broken in two places. One rib is broken, wrist is almost snapped in two and her lungs are full of smoke but she'll live if she makes it through the end of the week. I need to speak to Voight cause I want to stick in her in a medically induced coma. Her body's been through too much it needs time to heal"

Will swore. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked finally.

"No" Conner said. "I'll tell Voight myself."

Conner, Will supposed, had always been a braver man than most.

* * *

Erin had felt the vomit rise in the back of her throat as Conner had described the injuries and the plan for Bridget. Lexi she had been told had been much worse.

Hank had become unmovable. Like stone. She had never seen him like this. Camille they had all known was coming and that night he had gotten black out drunk. Justin…well…she remembered with crystal clarity what had happened the night Justin had died. This was new for Hank.

"Hank" she said rubbing his arm. "Bridget has survived too much to let this get to her"

"She threw herself out of the window" Hank said finally. "Wallace told me. Judging from where Matt found her and the broken glass she broke the window of the third floor and jumped out. Garbage disposal bin took must of the fall but she must…God Erin she must have decided she wanted to die by falling rather than burning"

He let out a horse gasp and dropped his head to his hands so she wouldn't see the anguish in his eyes. She had to blink back the tears again. Despite everything Bridget was her little sister, Lexi had been in some ways her little sister and this was pain beyond pain.

She pressed herself closer to Hanks side.

"I can't loose her Erin." He said brokenly. "I can't she's…she's _everything_. God I'd rather have her hating me than this…please I don't…I cannot lose anymore. She's…she's my baby, she's Cami's baby I…I cannot lose her please Erin tell me I'm not gonna lose her" He turned his expression to her and Erin wanted to find the words but couldn't.

"Hank…it's Bridget" she said finally. "She's tougher than all of us. She won't give up without a fight"

Deep down she wasn't sure if that was the case. Deep down she suspected that all of Bridget's fight had gone into trying to keep her head above the waterline. If she was being honest with herself she had no idea how Bridget was going to come out of this and she didn't know if she could pull Hank from the deep, dark hole that he would go down if she died.

Thank God that she never spoke to Hank that night honestly about what she was thinking.

* * *

 **And there you are, I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget and Lexi are fighting for their lives. The Team hunt down the men responsible. Bridget has a visitation (so to speak) and Erin tries to keep Hank afloat as they wait on tenderhooks. **


	37. Shell Shock

**Hi, so here is the second part of the fire arc. There might be a third which will see in the Chicago Justice episode but I worked really hard on this one and I hope you all enjoy it. Writing the last two chapters has just emotionally crippled me so I hope you enjoy them.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this story.**

 **Also some references to Grey's Anatomy and Harry Potter and also some spiritual discussions.**

 **Please Read and Review and let me know what you think and hopefully i will keep up my writing mojo and have the next chapter up by the end of the week if not more of them.**

 **Also just to reiterate this story will end with Season 4, so there are five chapters left, slowly I will bring this story to a close.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 37-Shell Shock (The Three Ghosts Of Bridget Voight)

Bridget and Lexi are fighting for their lives. The Team hunt down the men responsible. Bridget has a visitation (so to speak) and Erin tries to keep Hank afloat as they wait on tender hooks. Otherwise known as the Three Ghost of Bridget Voight.

* * *

How Erin had gotten Hank home that night she had no idea. She had half expected him to camp at Bridget's side—hell she had half expected him to go into work but Trudy had arrived and insisted he try and sleep the rest of the night off and then go into work for nine. The body count was still being determined and PD couldn't officially investigate until it was clear someone was responsible. Kim had taken Al and Meredith home and Erin was left with Hank.

She had gotten him back to the house and onto the bed where he had shivered almost unconsolably for hours before he had shut his eyes. Weather or not he had slept she didn't know because Erin had gone calmly down the stairs into the kitchen poured herself a tall glass of vodka and the cried for half an hour for the two girls who she had loved like sisters regardless of how they had felt about her.

At one in the morning Jay sent her a text message containing two numbers.

30.

Erin threw up in the sink.

At four Hank came down looking older than she had ever seen him.

"Any news?" he asked as Erin decided to pour him a drink.

"No" she said finally.

"But there is news. Just not about Bridget?"

Damn him.

"Yes. Jay text. It's confirmed 30 dead. And the toll at Chicago Med is still rising. Ten people will have their lives changed due to burns, blindness and amputation. Twenty more are in critical condition, Lexi and Bridget amongst them."

Hank stared at her for a second and then his face crumpled like a child and it would have been a woman with a heart of stone that would have walked away from him.

"Don't" she implored him reaching out so that they were hugging. "Please Hank don't. It's Bridget she's so tough it's unreal. She's survived two family deaths, hiding in a house while you and Jay engage in a shoot-out, a hostage situation in the precinct, nearly being the victim of Greg Yates and that was before you got to whatever the hell had gone down between Bridget and Roman"

Hank looked up at her momentarily diverted.

"What do you mean between her and Roman?"

Erin dithered. There was no way she could tell this man in this mood that his daughter had lost her virginity to the man but Hank seemed to understand or at the very least snorted poured himself another generous helping of vodka and downed it in two gulps.

"Where are we on the case?"

"Hank right now we don't have one. You know we cannot investigate until Chicago Fire gives us proof that it was arson. And even then we both know how hard arson is to prove. Until we get the call there's not much we can do"

"Erin if I lose her…I lose everything…"

Erin opened her mouth to tell him that he was not going to lose Bridget and then realised she couldn't say it. Instead she shut her mouth and pulled his hand into hers.

They stayed like that for the whole night until mercifully at ten the next morning Kevin rang them and said that Kelly working throughout the night had concluded and got a signed off report saying that the fire which at that point had claimed 33 people was arson. Even then they were painfully aware that they had not heard anything from the doctors treating Lexi or Bridget.

* * *

The case took them to false lead after false lead. Hank had his mind half on the job, half not. To be honest to have half his attention on what was going on was what he would call a blessing. He wanted nothing more to do than to go to the hospital and curl up next to the body of his beautiful, vivacious daughter who was now lying with a tube in her throat much like her brother had done so at the start of the previous summer.

How far had he had Bridget gone since then? The two of them had been locked into a struggle that had lasted far longer than it should have done. Looking back if he had known that Bridget would be living in that damn house of kindling, he would have never taken Kevin Bingham to the docks.

(He was kidding himself with that thought and he knew it)

At twenty past eleven his phone rang. It was Al. Hank wanted to think that his friend was looking after Bridget but he knew Al well enough to know that Al was thinking first and foremost of Lexi and if Al was ringing him then there was a very, very small chance that it was good news.

It took his friend two goes to get the words out and when he heard them Hank felt something in his stomach twist.

Lexi was dead.

Silly little Lexi who was nineteen in three months or so who had been his daughter's best friend, her confident and the kid who had always taken Bridget out of her shell was dead. The girl who had come round to his house to help his wife when she had been sick and had not so much as flinched at the wires and the hair loss and the vomiting, the girl who had moved during the funeral so she could sit next to Bridget, the girl who had done the exact same thing at Justin's funeral, who had gotten Bridget drunk and gotten her clothes and had been the reason why his so very serious daughter had laughed so much, was dead.

It was a hard blow to take. Even for him, if…no…when Bridget survived this breaking the news to her was going to be nothing short of torture.

And now he had to go and tell his team.

He was pretty sure the look on Erin's face was going to stay with him until the day he died.

* * *

Bridget felt like death. And when she sat up she noticed that something was wrong, everything felt light and bright and oh shit…was she dead?

"Not quite Bridge" said a voice to her left and she turned slowly to see Justin sat there his whole face bright and unscarred, clean of blood. She stared at him for a second.

"Oh fuck no" was all she said. "I am not having a Meredith Grey moment am I? Is Mom gonna appear?"

"Do you want me to go and get her?"

Bridget dithered. She wanted to see her Mom more than anything, she had a feeling though her mother was not going to be too impressed with her behaviour recently.

Some of that must have shown on Bridget's face because Justin laughed out loud.

"Yeah she's not too impressed with you. Thinks you might have been a bit too hard on the old man. Personally, I am touched to think that you care so much about me you'd get pissed, do a line of coke and then sleep with some tattooed idiot after he pays for some sort of strange pattern to be inscribed on your leg. Thanks for that"

Bridget grinned and then bit her lip as the knowledge of what was happening came crashing down upon her. She had never been what you would call a spiritual person, and this was a little too daytime TV for her liking.

"So, what's this…the In Between?"

"The…Bridge you're in a medically induced coma. Sorry to tell you but I think this is in your head."

Bridget took stock of that and then shrugged.

"It's a mess Justin, you the fire, me…all of it"

"Yeah I know. Gotta admit kinda liked you going bad though, made a bit of a change from your usual personality. Trouble is you know the old man's right to kill Bingham I guess that was what you had trouble with. Your conscious?"

"He chose revenging you over staying with me. He took the risk of being caught for murder over comforting me. Do you know what it's like…when he get's angry like that? You don't remember Mom that well because you and Erin decided to spend the first few months drinking and getting high. I had to be the one who cooked and cleaned for him and cleared up the mess and checked the gun was unloaded so he wouldn't shoot himself. I was the one who lied all the time when I was asked if he was ok or if I was ever afraid of him. You don't know half of the shit I've done for him. All I asked for was that he didn't do anything that would land himself in prison. So naturally he commits murder without a second thought, I ask that he be honest with me and we both know that he would have never have told me even if Internal Affairs were kicking down the front door to arrest him."

"All very true" Justin said sagely. "But it doesn't stop you from loving him"

"Justin are you here in my head just to remind me of shit I already know?"

"No kid, I'm telling you to forgive him, because you and I both know in a way that others do not that life is complicated. Besides you weren't made to hate people, you were made to love people. And you should."

"God death made you deep and complex. Wow."

"Yeah" Justin said winking at her. Bridget leaned back against the pillows. "It's gonna hurt going back" she said more to herself. "What if I don't want to?"

"Then that's your choice. But I do know you sis. I know that you've never ran away from a fight yet. You've delayed this one magnificently but you always go back and finish what you've started. And that…is something that you almost certainly get from our father."

His lips when they came down to touch her forehead were light and Bridget felt her eyes close again and sleep come to her sucking her back into the darkness.

* * *

When she woke again there was someone else sat at her bedside. For a second she opened her eyes and stared. And then she sat up in the hospital bed in her head (if that made any sense whatsoever) and stared at Lexi.

"No fucking way" she said quietly.

"Yeah" Lexi said sadly. "I died about four hours ago. Never really woke up. To be honest I'm glad. The pain of that fire…" she shuddered. "Oh you have no idea Bridget."

"No…No…No…" Bridget said running a hand through her hair and feeling the tears come into her eyes and spill down her face. "Lex how in God's name am I supposed to carry on without you?"

"Oh your' ll manage" Lexi said confidently. "I know you well enough to know that"

"Lexi…"

"I know. I know" Lexi said heavily. "Not quite the way I wanted to go out either. Kinda wanted to see if I could marry into England's Royal Family before I died or at the very least get into Yale" she shrugged shaking her head.

"This will kill Mom and Dad"

"If I had gone up with you, If I had gone up after the fire to find you…"

"With what? A half broken staircase and all that fire. You'd be dead too Bridge"

Bridget opened her mouth to tell her friend what she was honestly thinking at that moment but Lexi beat her too it her eyebrows coming together and her expression becoming fierce.

"Don't you dare say that would have been good Bridget. I mean it. I don't want to see you back here until your in your nineties, obscenely rich and dying alone in your bed with some toy-boy next to you. You need to go and live the life both of us should have, college, boyfriend, babies. Just name your firstborn after me and I'll be happy. Oh and go round and see my mom. You know be there for her if you could. Dad's got Uncle Hank, she needs someone, I'm gonna go someplace and your Mom's gonna be there for me, I need you to be there for mine. You will do that for me won't you?"

"You know I will but Lexi…how…I don't know how to live without you. Your my best friend…your my sister…"

"Yeah and if things had gone the other way then chances are I would be saying the same about you. But here we are. Nothing either one of us could do to change it. Besides if I had survived…well…life would have been very painful for me Bridget. I don't want that. I didn't want a life of pain. This…death…it's easier."

"For you perhaps" Bridget said sardonically. "How can this be our last conversation. Who am I going to ring at night when I need advice on how not to murder Dad or weather or not eighty dollars on a pair of jeans that make my ass look like Kim Kardashian's is too much?"

"My Mom…I just told you that. Besides I'm not going anywhere. As cliché as it is, I'm always going to be with you in that heart of yours that's so big and so deserving of everything the world has to offer."

Bridget reached out for Lexi's hand and found it absurdly comforting that she could touch her. She couldn't believe that this was the last time that they would touch. She couldn't believe anything that was happening right now. This was worse than her Mom, worse than Justin…this was hell in the extreme.

"Lex"

"Best friends forever Bridget."

Bridget let out a shaky laugh.

"Forever Lex"

She wasn't sure what to say, what was there too say. Lexi however pulled her into a hug and Bridget wrapped both arms around her trying to memorise her best friend, her other and in some cases her better half's scent, her shampoo and her perfume, the way her hair fell across her shoulder, everything that had made Lexi, Lexi in the same way that she had been made Bridget.

How long they spent like that she wasn't sure but she did know that eventually she had to pull away.

"So what happens now?"

"Well we watched that Grey's Anatomy episode together remember? And the last Harry Potter movie. If you think that this is that then what do you do now?"

Bridget thought about it.

"I get up and go back?"

"Yeah. You do through the door. I stay here. Terribly cliché isn't it?"

Bridget laughed; Lexi could always make her laugh. She gave Lexi's hand another squeeze even as she stood up, even as her legs felt heavy and her arm and chest hurt.

"Did it hurt?" she asked curiously. It seemed she had never asked Justin that question.

"Yes and no. One minute it did and then it didn't. I think it was the living that hurt more but God knows I'm not some sort of philosopher. This is just my experience. Weather or not it's different for you is another thing."

Bridget took that to the door even though she was dragging her feet with each step. There was a sense that when she walked through that door nothing would ever be the same again. She turned still clutching Lexi's hand like it was a lifeline.

"Love you Lex" she said finally.

"Love you to Bridge." Lexi said grinning. "Now go and have a great life."

Bridget took one look at her and then even though it hurt in ways more than she could say, she let go of Lexi's hand, turned away and walked through the door.

She kept walking even though every step forwards hurt her, she kept walking even when she wanted to turn back.

And then she stopped at the end of…well…wherever she was. Because someone else was standing there.

Bridget stared at her Mom and her Mom stared back. For a second they stared at each other.

"You shouldn't be here you know" Bridget said and her Mom's face creased into that smile and her hand came out to smooth back her hair like she'd just had nightmare, like she'd done when she had been so week from the chemo but her smile had been still bright.

"Neither should you" she said softly.

Bridget side stepped around each step killing her both emotionally and physically until she had the sense she couldn't go further anymore. She took one last step and the brightness disappeared and she fell face first into the dark whole of pain that she knew was her current predicament.

And then she choked.

* * *

Dylan Oates was being transferred to prison the next morning. Al was in Hank's office with a drink and he had sent the rest of his team home. Even Trudy who thought people that drank on the job should be suspended had broken her number one rule and had joined them for a quick fifth of scotch. She didn't want to be down there when that man was walked past her front desk. She didn't think she could stand it. Someone else had to take over. Besides she'd been standing for about twenty hours she didn't have the energy to do it anymore.

The death of Lexi had knocked something out of them, the waiting to see if Bridget would survive was tangible in the room. Al and Hank looked as if they were both locked in their own private hells and Trudy who had never had children wondered just how the hell she was going to manage the two most volatile men in her life if it all went to shit.

Just as she was wondered weather or not it was best to get the two of them (who had not said a word to each other or even looked at each other) home Hank's phone which had been on the desk suddenly rang causing all three of them to jump.

Over the beating of her heart which she was sure was working overtime after that little scare, Trudy saw Hank grab the phone and then promptly drop it looking more terrified than she had ever seen him and she had known him for about most of her career.

"Hospital" he said staring. "There going to tell me she's dead"

"You don't know that" Al said finally but Hank shook his head looking like he was going to be sick. Out of pity Trudy picked up the phone. She downed her scotch before it could drop to voicemail and then dragged up some courage to answer.

"Yes?" she said. She had to admit she was rather proud of the fact that her voice didn't tremble and that her hands didn't shake.

* * *

Trudy but down the phone staring at it like it was a bomb.

 _No. No. No. No._

"Hank" she said finally looking at him and her expression was still the same as if she had in the space of fifteen seconds grasped her control with all that she had and was forcing herself not to break down in tears. That look on Trudy was never a good sign.

 _No. No. No. No._

"Is she dead?" Al asked quietly.

 _No. No. No. No._

"No." Trudy said and then her face broke into a smile. "That was Will Halstead. Bridget's alive. She's woken up. She's alive"

And Hank didn't remember anything much after that.

* * *

 **And there you are. I will try and update with the complete last five chapters as soon as they are written.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget wakes up to a world that is all different, Hank tries to be there for his daughter as she begins to process what she's been through. Peter Stone put's Dylan Oates on trial and Bridget has a revelation as she comes face to face with darkness himself. **


	38. Clipped Wings

**Hi, so here is another chapter. The next two should be based around the whole fire incident and then the final two chapters should be based around the final few episodes of Chicago PD Season 4 but not sporadic so there might be a big laps between episodes.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **As I said before I am not a medical expert nor am I a legal expert so any inaccuracies and I apologise.**

 **And I will try and update sooner rather than later.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 38-Clipped Wings

Bridget wakes up to a world that is all different, Hank tries to be there for his daughter as she begins to process what she's been through. Peter Stone put's Dylan Oates on trial and Bridget has a revelation as she comes face to face with darkness herself.

* * *

Upon looking back Hank was pretty sure that Trudy drove. God knows if he had driven to the hospital the car would have been wrapped around a pole rather than steered neatly into the nearest car parking space. Al wasn't with them. He had begged to go home and Hank knew that deep down while his friend was glad that Bridget had survived the ordeal, the pain of losing Lexi was still so strong he could barely breathe. Trudy had instructed Antonio who had been overseeing the transfer of the two cases to drive him home which Antonio had been more than happy to do and Hank had not been sorry if he was being honest with himself to see the other man go. Hank knew what came when you lost a child. He knew…

Thank God he didn't have to live through it again.

Jay's brother was at the desk when he came in reading some notes. Hank took a moment to apricate that exhausted was pulling at Will's eyes and mouth and that most of the Medical staff here had been working an immense amount of overtime in order to get through the death and destruction that one man had caused for nothing more than the sheer pleasure of it.

"Hank" Will said smiling at him. "She's through here"

"She's alright?" he asked finally. He needed some form of confirmation that the phone call he had not been privy to had not been some sort of bizarre pipe dream.

Will stopped walking as if he was thinking hard on the answer. Hank really didn't like the affect that this was having on his heart.

"Alright…well…her leg is gonna be out of commission for a bit, her knee we relocated but ankle was broken in two places. Her rib is taped up but again she's going to need physio. Her wrist is taped up as well but her she wont be using it for her while. Her lungs are thankfully cleared of smoke and then there's Lexi Olinsky's death. I understood them to be best friends? Either way Hank I won't lie to you it's gonna be a long road."

"But's she's gonna stay alive?"

"Oh yeah, if she can survive this then she can survive anything."

"Is she awake?"

Will pulled a face.

"Drifting in and out" he said finally. "The drugs she's on are pretty strong without them she'd be in a lot of pain. She might not make a lot of sense when she does wake and I wouldn't want to tell her anything tonight. She's mostly out of the woods but a shock like Lexi's death might send her spiralling and I don't want that after what we've just took her out from"

Hank nodded barely hearing him.

The bed that Bridget had been in was in one of the trauma rooms. She had looked when Hank had seen her so small and frail under the covers, hell she had looked like a child when he had swung her up in his arms when she had been small and his wife had still been alive and all it would have took to have gotten Bridget to sleep was a story about his day at work.

The only thing that had brought the dream to an end had been the damn tube in her throat and the tubes connecting her to machines, wrapped around her wrist like snakes. It had reminded him so violently of his wife in her final moments that he had thrown up in the disposable bin with only Erin there to witness it. She had patted him on the back absent minded her eyes filled with tears.

Now the tube was gone. She was still half asleep but the thing down her throat was gone and she looked a little more like she was sleeping rather than like she was dying. That had to mean something. It had to.

Trudy patted him on the back and muttered something that sounded like it was coming from a very long way away. She told him she was planning on letting Erin know but the truth was he couldn't have cared what she was saying even if she had announced she was planning to do a strip tease on the Nurses desk. All he cared about was the girl in the bed.

How long he was sat on that hard little chair staring at his daughter before she woke he wasn't sure. But wake she did.

It started off soft and then her eyes were open a little just enough for Hank to see the slithers of brown and then they opened fully. She stared at him without seeing for a second and then slowly she came back into herself.

"Hey baby" he said softly. She didn't say anything for a second and Hank who remembered hospitals with Camille well enough know what it was that a person needed when they woke up from a deep sleep reached for some water.

She took only a little bit and in those few seconds her face drained of what little colour she had. It was clear that she was exhausted and Hank who still had no idea how he was to tell Bridget that amongst the 39 people dead was her best friend felt another pulse of anger at the sight of her.

Bridget stared at him for a second and then her mouth made one word.

"Lexi?" it came out as a whisper and despite what Will had told him, Hank couldn't look his girl in the eye and lie to her.

"Baby, I'm afraid she'd died"

Bridget nodded as if she'd expected that information and then her eyes darted around the room as if she still expected Al to come through the door wheeling in Lexi so that the two of them could start chatting like the old times.

She stared into space for a second and then in a way Hank had seen once before her expression changed from the blank slate it was to disbelief and then heartbreak, her face crumpled like a child and then she started crying huge sobs that racked her tiny frame in the big bed. Hank didn't know what to do even when she started to yank at the tubes. He caught her hands and despite everything pulled her up close to him so that he was holding her gently due to the broken rib thing.

She seemed to cry for ages and then she pulled back and rested her head on the pillow as if she was exhausted just by looking at him.

"It was arson" Hank said truthfully—well at this point he was on a roll now. "We got the guy though. The guy that killed all of them. And he is never going to see the light of day again?"

Bridget worked her mouth and when she spoke her voice sounded like sandpaper.

"Did you kill him?"

"Wha—no—he's going on trial. Al wanted to…called me a hypocrite for not letting him but I couldn't. It's not as easy to live with it as some would believe"

Bridget watched him for a second.

"How many dead?" she asked her voice a whisper.

Again Hank found he couldn't look her in the eye and lie to her.

"39"

Bridget stared at him for a second and then her eyes went round in her head. At that exact moment that she stared at the ceiling without seeing her machines started beeping. Before he could call for help Will was in the room adding something to a drip with the air of man who had been expecting this to happen.

"Morphine" he said finally. "She need's to sleep. I take it you told her about Lexi and the rest of it?"

"I had to"

Will said nothing.

"She needs to stay in hospital for another couple of weeks and…err…looking Jay mentioned that you two were not living together…" He trailed off and Hank was willing to bet that Jay who had always known what had happened that night with Bingham but who had known that there was no changing him had told his brother what had happened. Oh not enough to damage Will's conscious but enough so that Jay had someone to talk to that wasn't Erin.

"But she needs to live with someone while her recovery is going and It would be easier if she was living in a place that didn't have too many stairs"

"She's coming home with me"

Will stared at him and then nodded.

"Ok"

Mercifully he left them alone.

* * *

Bridget slept through Lexi's funeral. She had gotten so distressed about the fact that Will had refused to discharge her to go that she had sent her heart rate skyrocketing three times and as Will told Hank and Erin he was not prepared to risk a forth when her rib was so delicately placed near her lung.

Hank had agreed and Jay had also agreed to sit with Bridget in case she woke during the funeral. Erin thought that the funeral of Lexi Olinsky was lovely. A small part of her in between the tears acknowledged however that she was glad she was not at the funeral of Bridget Voight. Hank who had carried the coffin of his daughter's best friend next to Adam and Al looked nearly a decade older than what he was.

The problem was Erin should have known that Bridget had more balls than the rest of them put together especially as Bridget a week later before the trial began had access to a phone. She was saying nothing to anyone but she had asked Jay if she could borrow his phone and then she had given it back after an hour. Jay had told Erin this and Erin had assumed that Bridget had been checking social media to see what was being said. The fact that a man called Ben Harrison had also died in the fire had brought her to tears for reasons that Erin didn't know.

She found out later that week when Hank had mentioned in passing that Oates was to be bailed on Monday morning at 9. AM. As they had left Bridget had asked her first question in days where she had asked for some clothes, a skirt or two of Erin's so she could get out of a gown that showed her ass. It was the first time she had said anything in days and Erin had dropped of some clothes that night not thinking anything of it.

Oh how very wrong she was.

Because the next day Will called Jay at twelve PM to tell him that Bridget Voight had apparently stolen some crutches and gone AWOL from the hospital.

Erin would have laughed if her heart hadn't been broken.

"Wait" Adam said when Voight looked hysterical. "Think boss, she's got to go somewhere, the wreckage is all shut off so it's either Lexi's…grave or…or I mean…wouldn't she go to the bail hearing?"

"Oh fuck" Kevin said finally.

Erin thought that was a mild way of putting it.

* * *

Sometimes Bridget thought Doctors were too easy for their own good. The Doctor that Will called the Troll had left the staff room door open and it had taken Bridget ten minutes to grab the first set of cash and keys she could find.

It hurt like hell to drive but she got her car to the courthouse in time to sneak in at the back.

"What the hell are you doing here?" came a voice to her left. Bridget turned to see the face of Uncle Al staring at her like she was some sort of mirage. Bridget supposed she had looked better but the sight of seeing Lexi's Dad here was too much for her and she found she was crying again.

"I'm sorry" she said praying the man would understand, "I'm sorry It's not me that's dead I really am, if I'd have fought that fire more I could have forced myself up those stairs instead of jumping…please Uncle Al I'm sorry"

Uncle Al stared at her for a second and then his face seemed to crumple.

"Oh kiddo it's not your fault"

He slipped into the bench next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

"Bridget…please don't ever think that either I or Meredith blame you please…you did what you did to survive. Had it been the other way around then Hank would tell Lexi the same thing. Kid there was no need to be here today"

"I want to kill him" Bridget said wiping her eyes. "I thought about applying for a visiting order and then shooting him but then I remembered that there was bulletproof glass in maximum security prison."

Al looked like he wanted to either laugh or cry she couldn't be sure.

"I get it now. Bingham. I get it. Oh God Al I've been a horrible bitch to him. Some of the stuff I've said…Why is he being so nice to me? Why doesn't he hate me?"

Al let out a humourless laugh. "Oh darling…because you're his baby girl…because your alive. Because he's your Dad. And you know what Lexi would say if she could hear you right now don't you?"

Bridget snorted. "She'd tell me to stop being emotional and to get on with what needed to be done. Hell she'd tell me to live."

"Damn right she would."

"I stole a car to get here"

Al felt his mouth twitch for the first time in days. The girl was more Hank than his friend ever admitted to.

"I can call Kevin get him to come down and take it back to Chicago Med"

"I don't want to go back. I want to see _him_ , and then…then I'm going to drive it to where Lexi is…I want to see her"

Al felt his heart snap a little bit more at that.

"I'll drive you. God knows how long you've set your recovery back with this little stunt, and then when we get there I'm going to call your Dad. And you and he when you get back to Chicago Med are going to have a talk because if this has taught you or me or anyone in this city anything it's that life is far to fucking short"

Bridget wiped her eyes again.

Dylan Oates came out ten seconds later. When he did Al tightened his grip. The bastard may have taken his baby girl, he would be damned if he would take what was left of his goddaughter as well.

* * *

Bridget was sat on the edge of the grave with her bad leg and her good both at odd angles leaning over the edge. Al had stood to the side watching her. God knows he thought to himself he couldn't blame Bridget for being alive. He wouldn't even wish it even in place of Lexi. The girl was much his own as Lexi had been and the loss of her best friend had crippled her in a way that mother and brother dying had not.

Hank was there suddenly at his shoulder. He looked as shattered as Al felt.

"She went to the bail hearing. She told me she wanted to shoot the fucker in prison. More your kid than Cami' s in this moment don't you think"

Hank grinned.

"Al…"

"Don't…seriously. She looked me in the eye and said that she wished it was her instead of Lexi and that it was her fault. Hank I wouldn't wish that on anyone let alone her. God make sure she knows that neither I nor Meredith would ever…"

Hank's hand came down on his shoulder. "I know" he said heavily. "I know Al."

"She doesn't know why you're here…she think she's been a bitch to you…" He carefully didn't say that Bridget was right. Hank looked like one more bit of information would kill him where he stood.

"Al I don't know what to even say…"

"To her or to me? Hank just…just…I don't know but…help her…if we lose both of them…" he trailed off. Bridget and Lexi had been two halves of the same whole much in the same way he and Hank had been. Fuck knows what would happen now.

Hank didn't say anything. He looked like Al felt. Like one more word would fail him.

That night Bridget was back in her hospital bed. She remembered what Al had said to her. That her Dad had loved her despite the way she had acted an on impulse she reached out for his hand.

It was there curling around hers. Bridget was too emotionally drained to do much more than that but she thought that the knot of guilt in her was slowly loosening bit by bit and that one day, it might be easier to see without seeing Lexi and to breath with the knowledge that her best friend was gone and that Bridget was alone once more.

* * *

 **And there you are. Let me know what you think and I will try and update sooner rather than later as I always say.**

 **Next Chapter-The trial of Dylan Oates begins. Bridget is still in hospital (board stiff and full of guilt) and determined to attend. Peter Stone asks a favour of Hank and Bridget confesses to her events of her two months of sex, drugs and rock and roll to Hank. **


	39. Soul Searching

**Hi, so here is another chapter. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and i hope that i can publish the final three chapters sooner rather than later.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **The next chapter will deal with the trial and then the final two chapters will gloss over the cases that follow the massive crossover that was the fire.**

 **Please Read and Review and let me know waht you think.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 39-Soul Searching

The trial of Dylan Oates begins. Bridget is still in the hospital (board stiff and full of guilt) and determined to attend. Peter Stone asks a favour of Hank and Bridget confesses to her events of her two months of sex, drugs and rock and roll to Hank.

* * *

Two weeks after the bail hearing the trial began. A week after that Peter Stone stood up in court and said he had no issue with the confession so helpful attained by Hank Voight (whose daughter had been in that fire didn't you know?) and in the presence of Alvin Olinsky (whose daughter had died in that fire didn't you know?) being supressed. Hank who had heard all of this with an eyeroll to the great Peter Stone had confessed nothing of this to his daughter who had regarded him each day he spent in the hospital with her as if he was a painting or a picture that she couldn't read.

He had gone back to the warehouse out of a painful curiosity and a desire to see where it was that his daughter had decided that she would rather jump than burn. It had resulted in him throwing up on what he knew to be his own crime scene. (and he hadn't done that since Justin had been small) The drop had been really fucking long. He had then walked up the makeshift stairs to see the floor where Lexi had died.

It had been the bedrooms. He knew that she and Bridget had been sharing a room. Without having been in the deathtrap before he had known that because to both girls that had been a childhood dream come true. And Dylan Oates had taken that dream and had set it alight with a homemade bomb and that had seen one of them dead and Hank genuinely didn't know if he would ever get his girl back from this brink that this had taken her too even if she was doing an admirable job of hiding it.

He even saw the floor where she had jumped from.

He felt just by looking at it he was going to be sick.

* * *

Within a week the trial had begun in full. Hank suspected it was only a matter of time before Antonio's delicate conscious got the better of him and he told Stone that he had actually not witnessed the confession but rather heard about it second hand from two fathers who had lost and nearly lost their daughters in that fire. He had been expecting on the dull Tuesday the day after Dylan Oates hired the best defence attorney in Chicago that Peter Stone would come to see him. He was not on the other hand expecting what the other man had to say to him.

"How's your daughter?"

"She's fine"

He hated the platitudes with Stone and a part of him hated the idea of the man even mentioning Bridget when the last time the man and Bridget had had a conversation he had called her a liar willing to cover up murder so she could continue living her peaceful little life.

"Hank I'll come straight to the point. I need witnessed that were there that night. That can paint a face to the victims and hit the jury hard. Will you talk to your daughter and see if she will testify?"

Well…that was blunt he'd give Stone that.

"I'll ask" he said truthfully because Stone was like a dog with a bone and Hank knew he'd just find a way to ask Bridget himself if he didn't.

He also didn't tell Stone that he was betting his pension on the answer being somewhere along the lines of Fuck No.

Stone nodded. "Also if you can her relationship with Ben Harrison"

Hank stared at him.

"Who?"

"Ben Harrison, he died in the fire, he was twenty, apparently he parted hard, did drugs and a lot of rock and roll, was a freelance writer for some magazine…either way everyone who survived that knew him indicated that your daughter knew him, both as a drug dealer and as…well…a friend with benefits shall we say"

Hank took a deep breath and reminded himself sternly that shooting Stone in the head would help nobody and that Bridget was alive and nothing else mattered other than that.

When he opened his eyes again he managed something that he knew didn't look like a smile but rather like a grimace.

"I'll ask" was all he said with a sweetness that tasted like poison in the back of his throat.

* * *

By the time the trial came along it had been nearly a week and half. Bridget was still in hospital and still saying very little but she had begun to sit up. Someone had been by one day to talk to her about rehabilitation for her leg and her wrist. Hank had spoken to the school and had arranged something that could be described as a tutor as well as someone to come around once a week with their homework. That part of the world was coming together neatly. There had been no discussion about where Bridget would live. She had not said she wanted to live elsewhere which was good because if Hank was being honest he didn't want to have that discussion. In fact as the weeks went by and the trial of Dylan Oates continued to move at a snail's pace Hank thought that each day his daughter got a little bit quieter and a little bit more broken in her bed.

The week that the confession was called into question (and any idiot with a brain could have seen that coming) Hank arrived at the hospital to see Will Halstead looking tired but rather pleased with himself. It was the expression Jay got whenever they had caught a suspect after a long chase.

"She can go home" he said by way of a greeting. "Conor looked her over, were both in agreement. She's gonna need a massive amount of help with her PT and with getting up and down the stairs and the shower and stuff but medically…yeah she's well enough to go home"

Hank stared at him for a second. The weeks had dragged by and he had half been living at the hospital, half living at work. He had not thought that his house which had been lifeless for so long was ready to accommodate again the whirlwind that was his daughter.

"Yeah" he said finally trying to keep the level of disbelief out of his tone. The level of hope at how far they had come from that ungodly, unmentionable hour where Conor Rhodes had sat down opposite him and told him that they wanted to put his baby girl in a medically induced coma.

"Yeah" Will said grinning at him. "Look I'm not going to say it's easy, she's going to need a lot of help and it will be a while before she's back on the party scene, and…well…mentally we both know that she's been through a lot. Doctor Charles wanted to me to tell you that if you think she needs help…"

Hank snorted. The last time he had been to see the good Doctor about his daughter it had ended up in a row that had seen her move into that deathtrap. He wasn't going to do that again in a hurry.

"Anyway. She's in her room, I did tell her she could go home but I'm not sure if it went through—she's got a fabulous death stare you know?"

Hank who up until quite recently had been on the end of that death stare did indeed know but didn't comment on what was going on. His daughter was coming home, that was all that mattered.

* * *

"You're not going to throw some kind of surprise party are you?" Bridget asked as she leaned heavily on her crutches as her Dad fumbled around for his keys.

"If Erin had, had her way then yes, but no. Figured you'd need a moment to breathe when you got in."

Bridget managed a small smile. In truth she was emotionally exhausted.

The house was much the same though she noticed with a wry amusement that her Dad had attempted to clean the place up and that he had brought down some of her stuff. She wondered if he had bribed Erin or Kim with the promise of overtime so that they could go and do some shopping. She took in the bags under his eyes and the way he kept shooting looks at her as if she would disappear any second and then she found the tears which were coming so quick these days rise up again. She blinked them back before anyone could see. She didn't want to cry now.

She caught a look at herself in the mirror that was hanging on the wall. Her face was still bruised violently the different stages of healing clashing and there was a scar now right underneath her left eye. Her hair was still slightly matted and had not dried from the shower at the hospital right. She looked older and yet without make up younger all at the same time.

She felt like she was a decade older than she was. Maybe two.

An hour later after some pizza in which she took maybe three or four bites and after watching some TV she felt comfortable enough to ask the questions that she so desperately wanted answers too.

Well…the easier questions anyway. The other questions that she had wanted answers too since Justin had died were still there…but tonight was not the night for those questions. She wasn't sure that there was ever going to be a night where she wanted to ask those questions and hear those answers but she knew in the same way she had known that this world in which she had buried herself in was going to come crashing down, that she would have to pay for her months of rebellion.

"Dad…" Again her voice sounded strange in the empty room. Her Dad turned to look at her.

"Did the confession get thrown out?"

"Stone didnt fight for it so yeah, he wants everything by the book, doesn't want Oates walking on a technicality I suppose."

There was a pause. "Can I ask you a question?" He asked finally as if choosing every word carefully.

"Sure"

"Who was Ben Harrison?"

Of all the questions she had been expecting Bridget had not been expecting that one.

"How the hell do you know about him?"

"Peter Stone…he…err…he came to see me…he wanted to know if you'd testify at the trial put a spin on this Harrison kid and Lexi. Make them out to be human or something. I said I'd ask you but I did…I do think you shouldn't do it"

"I don't want to do it" Bridget said feeling revolted. "Why the fuck would I do that?"

Her Dad ignored her but nodded. Bridget supposed she may as well get the worst of it over with while he was still thrilled she was alive. Would be ironic wouldn't it? Survive the greatest arson attack of the decade and the get murdered by her own father.

"What else did Peter tell you about Ben?"

Her Dad hesitated before pulling a face.

"He said that he was your drug dealer and that the two of you may have had a sexual relationship. And that you were seventeen when it started and he was twenty"

Bridget sighed.

"I wasn't his customer" she said finally "I did do drugs Dad I won't lie. I was just in _so_ much pain…you can't imagine it…and I wanted to hurt you so much…as well as numb what I was feeling, so yeah I did some pills and then a line of coke. He did want to share a needle I remember that much—I didn't!" She interjected quickly seeing the look of abject terror on her Dad's face.

"I didn't…and yeah we had sex but I was protected and no matter what state I was in I made sure that he was protected. All the sex was consensual, in fact I had a say in everything, even my tattoo"

"Tattoo! You got a tattoo!?"

Oh shit.

"Yeah, some artist on the second floor did it with some equipment he stole and I got drunk on vodka…it's actually really nice and I didn't get infected…" she trailed off.

"You know" her Dad said finally "I always thought that it would be Justin who would be the death of me. I really did get that wrong didn't I?"

Bridget stared at him and then started laughing uncontrollably and then without warning the laughter turned to sobs and then she was sobbing in her Dad's arms and he was hushing her like she was eleven again and he had just told her that there was nothing more that could be done.

Finally when she felt that it was all out of her she pulled back.

"You should hate me" she said finally wiping her eyes. "I put you through hell. I should have died in that fire and done you a favour"

Before she had finished that sentence however her Dad had reached out and grabbed her chin in his hand. He forced her took look at him and Bridget thought that perhaps there weren't words to describe the look that was on his face.

"If I ever hear you say that again I will shake you silly. Your alive…you survived. There is nothing and I mean _nothing_ that you could do that would ever make me hate you or not want you _. God_ Bridget you have no idea what went through my head when Wallace Boden came out with Lexi and told me that he didn't know where you were but that he couldn't go back in to search. I looked at the dead bodies wondering if I would see you…you cannot imagine…" he shook his head looking away and blinking rather rapidly. "And I was all prepared to sink to the floor and not get up again. And then Matt Casey was dragging you along and you were alive and breathing. And nothing, _nothing_ that had gone before mattered…as far as I am concerned it doesn't matter now"

Bridget stared at him for a second unable to speak.

"Tell me you get that Bridget"

And she did. She nodded and finally her father realised her chin.

"And I know I wasn't the perfect parent to you. You lost your Mom and instead of grieving you took care of me when I should have been taking care of you. And I put you through hell with a trial, and then Justin…I wasn't perfect. I am not perfect but there is nothing that you could ever do that would make me stop loving you"

"Right back at you" Bridget said finally wiping her eyes again and her father just pulled her back into the crook of his arm where she stayed there for a long time.

"Tomorrow" her Dad said quietly "Is a new day. So let's make it new ok? New relationship"

Bridget nodded.

"And so help me if I catch you doing any form of drugs again then I will ground you until college graduation"

She giggled.

They sat like that for a very long time and just when Bridget was beginning to fall asleep properly for the first time since the fire her Dad spoke again.

"Also if you could stop having sex, keep your tattoo count down and wear clothes that actually cover your body that would be brilliant as well"

Bridget still half asleep, smiled.

* * *

 **And there it is, i hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will be posted soon.**

 **Next Chapter-Bridget and Erin share a moment as the former attempts to build her life up again from scratch, Bridget and Hank share a moment through the trial of Lexi's killer and Hank begins to slowly turn his attention back to work and trust the fact that his world won't fall out from under his feet again.**


	40. The Turning Point

**Hi, so here is another chapter. I am publishing these as soon as they have been written so with this chapter being published there are two more chapters left to write until the completion of this story.**

 **As I have said this is the final chapter of the fire arc, the next two chapters will gloss over the remaining episodes.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing in here aside from Bridget is mine.**

 **And please Read and Review.**

 **Also I noted that this story is now over 100k of words so thank you to all of you who have stuck with me since the start of this story. We have slowly but surely reached the end.**

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Bridget

Chapter 40-The Turning Point.

Bridget and Erin share a moment as the former attempts to build her life up again from scratch, Bridget and Hank share a moment through the trial of Lexi's killer and Hank begins to slowly turn his attention back to work and starts to trust the fact that his world won't fall out from under his feet again.

* * *

The trial began in earnest the following week. Bridget had not been sleeping well Hank could tell. He wondered if perhaps she was worried about Oates getting off and he tried to drop hints that the bastard was going to get what he was coming but he made sure to mention that Stone would win. Never again would he so much as hint that Al would take justice into his own hands. Even if Al did Hank decided privately that he wouldn't help him. That seemed to be the sticking point for his daughter and Hank would never again put himself through the pain of loosing Bridget again.

Of course with 39 other families in the same position as Al and God only knew how many kids were paralysed or mutilated or traumatised because of that man he doubted very much that Al would get to Oates first if he got off. There would be a line around the state and back.

Speaking as the parent of one traumatised kid Hank had to give Stone some small begrudging credit. He had managed the case alright so far without cocking it up and he hoped that Stone would continue. The confession was a blow but he had seen Stone go after him with a unique determination to get what he wanted and he highly doubted that he was going to stop now.

Bridget seemed to be getting…well better he supposed wasn't the word for it. At the very least she wasn't getting any worse than she had been in hospital. Her head was above water and for that Hank was eternally grateful because it could have been a lot worse.

He found that Erin was around a lot more though that might have been because Bridget was still struggling with the stairs. Erin would never know how relieved he was that she was there both from an emotional point of view and from a practical one. The thought of helping his eighteen year old into the shower and then back out of it sent shudders of mortification running through him.

There was a pause at night where he took stock of his life and what he had lost and what he still had. He had never thought that his children would die before he would. He had lived a life where getting killed was the norm, something to be expected even when it didn't happen. You knew that you were directly in the line of fire—hell that was why you choose the job, because you were doing something good regardless of weather or not you would pay the ultimate sacrifice.

He had never expected to live in a world without either of his children. In fact Hank would have done life with a cellmate that hated cops with an unmatched passion, would rather do time for life in General Population where your chances of surviving if you were a cop were next to none, rather than do one day without his children.

The fact that Justin was dead grated on him everyday. Losing Bridget had never been something that he had expected or even contemplated. It was strange in a way. Perhaps it had been Justin's profession in later life or the fact that his son was far too much like him for his own good but the nightmare had always been Justin. As horrific as that made him that was what he had always imagined.

A world without Bridget was most certainly not.

And then there was the issue of the drugs and the underage sex and the drinking that had carried on behind his back. Hank was no idiot. He had known that there had been something off with his daughter simply because he had known the girl he had raised, he had known that girl, that girl that was Bridget since she had been passed into his arms when she was a baby. He had known that she was struggling. Of course he would have preferred drinking to drugs if he was being honest with himself, but having lived through two of Erin's breakdowns he had to admit that it was easier to live with Bridget than it was Erin.

And she seemed to be coping well. He had seen Erin as a teenager and as an adult trying to hide her drug issues, and knew the signs that he had to look for. He could see none of them with Bridget.

He didn't tell her that once he had checked her room because she'd hit the roof and it was then that he realised that he couldn't do half of what he would have done before because he was still absolutely terrified of losing her.

He kept all of this to himself and didn't say anything even when the nightmares woke him up at night. He was pretty sure that she was also having them as well.

* * *

The trial of Dylan Oates continued for the better part of a month. Bridget didn't mention going to it once until Erin rang them one night to tell him that she had heard from a contact within the States Attorney's office (not Antonio she told him but someone else she knew) that the jury had reached their verdict and that in the morning they would deliver it.

"I want to go" Bridget said finally into the silence that night as she picked at her food. "I want to go and see him rot. Or see him get off. Either way…you wouldn't have moved Lexi from the damn room if it was me"

Hank tried to cover up his flinch at the way she flung almost dying out. He couldn't shake the fear or the memories…he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to do that for a very long time.

He turned back to his food. If he had thought that Bridget coming back home meant that he would eat again then he was wrong, the girl could barely stand up some days her leg was in that much pain. Of course Meredith being the amazing woman that she was (and also Hank suspected in a vain effort to distract herself from life without Lexi) had been sending them food parcels and it was so reminiscent of the time straight after Camille had died that he found some nights he could barely swallow.

"Alright" he said finally. "But you know either way it will be painful"

"Oh I know that" Bridget said finally. "I know that. This whole thing has been painful. I just want to see him go down for it. I want them to say Lexi's name so that he knows that she wasn't just some random body pulled out of that fire. I want them to say Ben's name because despite his faults he was a person, I want them to say the name of the boy who I saw die. I want them and I want him to acknowledge that there were 39 people who died, and that a lot of lives were ruined…I want him to see me. Me who survived. To him it will probably mean nothing—to me it means a lot"

Hank stared at her for a second and then nodded. "Besides" Bridget said cutting up a bit of her meat and chewing it thoughtfully. "Uncle Al and Aunt Meredith will be there and you might be the only one who can restrain him if this goes sideways"

Hank had to give her the point.

* * *

The next morning Bridget felt like she was resisting some monster hangover and she didn't know why. She felt like crawling back into bed and never getting up again but she knew she couldn't. Deep down she knew she had to be there for the sake of her best friend and for a man who had done nothing wrong but help her plug a deep hole inside of her for a while. At some point that would wear off and the grief would hit her at full speed, she hoped however that would not be today.

As Lexi would say, Bridget's mascara was far too expensive for it to run.

That thought made her laugh and then she felt her teeth gnash together. God what was wrong with her?

She dressed in a skirt (so much easier than anything else she could wear at this point) and a shirt that she managed to get half on before Erin arrived. Erin helped her get the rest of her clothes on as her arm was still in a sling and then she did some of Bridget's make up.

"Can I ask you something?" Bridget asked as Erin was attempting to straighten the short hair that now came down to her shoulders.

"Sure"

"When Nadia died…did it feel wrong to find things funny?"

Erin's hands stilled in her hair. "For a while yes" she said finally. "But then one day I was in the squad room and Adam said something funny and I laughed. And do you know something Bridget? I didn't feel one ounce of guilt. Because at that point I knew Nadia would have wanted me to laugh. Because I knew that she would be laughing herself. And that she would have wanted me to live a good, long and full life. I know it sounds stupid but it's how I don't drown my sorrows whenever I think of her. She's a part of me. She never goes away. But I don't want her too…if that makes any sense or is any help to you whatsoever"

Bridget thought about it.

"I suppose it does help yeah"

Erin touched her shoulders in sympathy.

"I'm so glad it wasn't you though. I miss Lexi, I really miss her but that fire could have took both of you"

"Sometimes I think that would have been easier than to still be here. Dad doesn't want me to say it but I know it to be true. Sometimes I don't think I deserve to be here. I put both of you though hell"

"Yeah well…some might say we both deserved it. And I suppose it was my fault. I took you to him that night thinking you could talk some sense into him. I should have known that it wouldn't have made a blind bit of difference. I should have seen that it would damage the relationship between the two of you"

Bridget thought about what to say. She couldn't deny that that was true but she didn't want to say it.

"I'd have found out about Bingham eventually" was all she managed to say. That was about as much truth as she could give the about that situation. She was still working her way through her grief for Lexi. She was unsure about weather or not she would ever get to the all encompassing loss that had been the death of Justin or the other emotions that came with it. The level of hate that she had felt was something she knew she really didn't want to feel again.

There was a knock on the door.

"You girls ready?"

"Yeah" Erin called back finishing the last bit of hair. Bridget stood up and was suddenly reminded so strongly of her mothers funeral that she thought she was going to vomit.

"You alright?"

"Yeah" she lied through gritted teeth. "Just dizzy from standing up so fast"

* * *

She heard the words she wanted to hear. She heard the guilty verdict and over the cheers and the celebration at the end of one man's life she leaned back and closed her eyes.

It still didn't make her feel better.

Bridget didn't have much hope left at this point but she decided to use what was left of it to hope that Erin was right. One day she would learn to live again without her best friend.

That night when she sat down to dinner she found she could eat it a bit more. Her Dad was sat down next to her and then when she had just finished he passed something across the table to her. It was a box.

"Eighteenth birthday present. Never did get a chance to give it you"

Bridget stared at it.

"You really didn't have to…"

"I did and you know it. Not every day your daughter turns eighteen. Even if it is a birthday you don't want to remember. I want you to have this. Something good"

Feeling touched beyond belief Bridget opened the dark box. When she saw what was inside it she shut the lid again and had to look away.

"No way"

"Yes way. You've had your eye on it for years and your Mom would want you to have it. Besides she'd be the first person to tell you that you deserve the world. This is just me doing…without the words"

Bridget stared at him and then opened the box again. Inside was the bangle that her Dad had given her Mom that year she had been diagnosed. She had not known it then but that had been her Dad's attempt to try and buy normality. She remembered he had bought Justin a laptop and Erin some a leather jacket that had cost more money than Erin had ever seen before and she had gotten her very first pair of high heeled boots out of it that had been very nice indeed.

Two weeks later her Mom had blown their worlds apart.

The bangle was gold and open with two stones at the end of it. One had been the red ruby that had been her Mom's birthstone and at the other end had been the amethyst that was hers. And her Dad had been right, she had coveted this for a long time. Clearly as well she noted slipping it on and watching as it fit snugly he had, had it resized, he'd had this done either before or during their estrangement.

It did nothing to make her feel better about what had happened even though she did acknowledge that not all the blame was at her door.

That night as she went to bed staring at the ceiling Bridget counted up the death toll that was in her life. Nadia had been killed instead of her. Cancer had took her Mom. A bullet had taken Justin. Fire had killed Lexi. And yet she was still alive. Still standing.

Her last thought as she went to sleep a long time after she went to bed was that perhaps it was time for her to do what Lexi had asked of her and live her life free of her past and most importantly, live for the both of them.

* * *

 **And there you are, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forwards to publishing the final two.**

 **By the way if anyone is wondering about the bangle Hank gives Bridget, it is based of one that Meghan Markle-AKA the Duchess of Sussex wore when she went to her first public engagement post her baby. I don't know what it's called but the style of Bridget's bracelet is the same barring the two gemstones on the end.**

 **Next Chapter-The Penultimate Chapter of this Story!-** **Hank meets a old friend who might become a new enemy and also meets and values a new detective. Erin becomes embroiled in a high stakes child kidnapping case with ramifications for her career and Bridget attempts to move on with her life in the only way she knows how (much to Hanks concern)**


	41. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

**Hi, so here is another chapter and the penultimate chapter of this story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as short as it is and i will hopefully publish the next and final chapter shortly after this.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this chapter.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

 **And I hope to see you for the final chapter.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 41-Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind.

Hank meets a old friend who might become a new enemy and also meets and values a new detective. Erin becomes embroiled in a high stakes child kidnapping case with ramifications for her career and Bridget attempts to move on with her life in the only way she knows how (much to Hanks concern). Penultimate Chapter of this Story!

* * *

The weeks turned a little into months and Bridget returned to school. Her knee was aching and she couldn't play sports anymore—she had never been a big sports person even when she had been in school and she remembered Lexi joking about it. Even now when she thought of the girl who should be sat with her she felt the fresh wave of pain hit her like a wave in the ocean. She found however that with each day the pain got a little less. It didn't fade. She imagined that the loss of Lexi would never fade completely but she did acknowledge one morning that she no longer blamed herself for surviving.

That had to mean something surely?

Soon she found that she could stand up for longer than half an hour as well which helped. She got back into the kitchen and as she stared at the pot of whatever it was that was she was stirring Bridget thought that perhaps she had gotten back to where her life had been at the start of this story. Only there was no Justin, no Lexi and very little happiness in it for her.

That week which like all the others seemed to stretch into darker hours and darker days. It was broken up however only due to the scandalous gossip that Denny Woods had been found with his hand in the cookie jar-so to speak-and that he had been arrested for wrongly sending an innocent man to prison for over a decade or so.

She found no interest in it though deep down she had to admit that she wasn't surprised. She had met Denny Woods only once at her mother's funeral and that had been enough to set her teeth on edge even when she had been eleven. She had felt strange in his presence and the quick flick up and down he had given her with his eyes had made her want to scream. Back then Bridget had not been able to understand or accept what her instincts were telling her. Nearly seven years on from that event, she could do.

Denny had been one of those cops that had come up with the Old Breed that you heard about on the news. The cops that didn't mind bending or outright breaking the rules a little. The cops that had been on the take and that hadn't minded throwing others to the wolves in order to save their own skin. It was the kind of thing that her father had protested about and Bridget had always given him a long look because she had known about the unregistered weapons and the ninety grand in the safe and the fact that her Dad knew things, had seen things and had probably done things that would make him the same if not worse than Denny Woods.

Of course now things were different. Now she didn't want to think of those things. She didn't want to think of that line that she had seen her Dad cross, the body that she knew Erin had dug up and moved somewhere so that Crowley couldn't find it. She didn't want to think about that because she didn't want to think of what she would have done for ten minutes alone with Dylan Oates and the fact that she still thought about what she could have done.

But the truth of the matter was that Bridget knew she wasn't a killer. Killing she knew from when she had seen Bingham, from when she had seen the cops coming back in from work with their faces drawn facing investigation after investigation for firing off their weapon and getting lucky or unlucky depending on how you saw it, was not as easy to do as people thought. She wouldn't have killed Dylan Oates even when she had been at her worse. She wouldn't have killed him. But God knows she had wanted to.

Some people—here she thought possibly Doctor Charles would have told her that was grief. Lexi on the other hand would have told her it was love.

Two weeks passed and she found that she was getting more and more interested in what was going on during the weeks. The cases that her Dad and that Erin were working. She could take stock now, look up and see what was going on. Erin and Jay had broken up and that she had not seen coming nor had she seen Jay's quickie divorce from some woman who as Erin had claimed 'looked beyond cheap'. Erin when she was in a mood like that was far easier for Lexi to deal with and Bridget opened her mouth once to tell Erin to call Lexi and then remembered with painful clarity that Lexi was not here anymore. She gnashed her teeth shut and thought perhaps that she had done a brilliant job of pretending that her heart wasn't in pieces on the floor. Instead she took a small sip of water and smiled feeling it stretch across her face and agreeing with what was being said even though she was barely feeling it.

She thought perhaps that there were two other people who might understand how she was feeling and she had promised Lexi to be there for her Mom and yet Bridget didn't know how she was going to look Meredith in the eye when her daughter was dead. So that though went to the back recess of her mind where she pretended that it wasn't chipping away bit by bit at her in the meantime.

There was now also a new cop at Intelligence. Bridget had met Hailey Upton once and thought in another life she and Erin might have been sisters. How much Hailey knew about her and about what Bridget was going through Bridget didn't know but she suspected that someone had told her—and by someone she meant Jay.

There was a pause as she stood there and she bit her bottom lip watching Hailey pass around Greek Donuts and then when there was a minute they were alone Hailey mentioned about her Dad, about the robbery when she was a kid.

"It's alright to be scared you know" she said finally. "Scared of living I mean. But you get it back."

Bridget stared at her and then nodded because if she was being honest with herself Hailey was so on the mark about what she was feeling right at that given moment that had she opened her mouth and spoken then she would have started sobbing in her arms like some sort of kid and Bridget didn't have much but she had pride. As Lexi used to say to her, too much pride. Pride on a good day was part of Bridget's DNA, on a bad day it was her backbone.

And God knows she'd had too many bad days.

And then there was the piece de resistance that came when Erin, strong and ever dependable Erin (bar that time with Nadia of course) took her gun and stuck it in a suspects mouth and threatened to shoot him if he didn't confess.

When her Dad had told her that Bridget couldn't help herself. She snorted, rolled her eyes heavenwards and then said. "Of course she fucking did"

Half expecting a rebuke for the language used she was surprised to find none. She looked up from where she had been spooning some soup into her mouth and found that her father was staring at her with some sort of expression that she couldn't begin to read.

"What?" she asked looking at him.

"Nothing" he said finally. "Just been a while since I've heard you use that tone of voice. Nice to know the sarcasm isn't gone completely"

"Bet you never thought that you'd say that" Bridget said and her father had the grace to look somewhat amused.

"No. But it doesn't change anything, I'm glad to hear it. Right now I'm glad to hear anything other than a yell about what the hell I was thinking leaving Erin in their alone. Certainly I now have to worry about what Hailey's gonna say when she's up in front of IAB. Never mind Erin whose not in the mood to sit down, play nice and shut up"

Bridget snorted again. "Since when was Erin ever in that mood?"

"Bunny Fletcher is making her usual yearly reappearance. Jimmy's buggered off and her and Jay have fallen apart. I don't have time to run Erin's life for her again. To be honest with you I don't see a lot of ways out of this for her. She's shot herself in the foot and this is not the first time either. If they found out half of what she was up to right after Nadia died she'd loose her shield by the end of this week"

Bridget stared at him. Never had she envisioned it getting this bad with Erin but then again…she'd had other things to concern herself with. And she knew that there was one more thing, no matter how unpleasant for both her and for her father that she had to do.

"Tomorrow after school I'm not gonna come home. I have to go and do something. I just wanted to let you know that I'm probably gonna take the car"

Her Dad looked at her and Bridget took in the look of dread that he managed to hide pretty well and that she saw for the first time. She had never seen that look on his face when he had looked at her and not for the first time she felt a great wave of sadness at the pain that she had caused him even though he had said it didn't matter and she knew that parts of it were and had been justified.

"Oh, where?"

"I want to go and see Lexi's grave and then Ben's. But I want to go and see Meredith afterwards. I said…I said…look I should have gone there sooner, Lexi would have wanted me to go round there sooner and see her Mom but…I wasn't sure if Meredith would want to see me. It's why I don't stay long if Al is in the room. I don't want to have the conversation about Lexi yet but this is something that needs doing. It's been in my head for weeks now. Months even if you count all that time in hospital. So tomorrow's a good a day as any. And don't whatever you do call Al. I don't want him and Meredith to know I'm going over. I mean it. I don't want Meredith to pretend with me, I've known her for most of my life if she wants to yell she can yell. Promise me you won't give either one of them a heads-up."

There was a very pregnant pause.

"Alright" her Dad said finally. "If this is something that you need to do then fine…just…just drive safe ok and let me know when your home"

There was more to it than that Bridget knew but she appreciated her father not saying it out loud.

* * *

Meredith opened the door and stared down at her for a minute in surprise before her eyes widened slightly. Bridget tried to hold her own against the stare that never seemed to end but Meredith had passed down that look onto her daughter and whenever Lexi had done it Bridget had ended up collapsing into laughter.

There was a heartbeat of pause as the two of them looked at each other and then Meredith took a step backwards and Bridget went into her best friend's house head held high and ready to face what was coming. The good, the bad and either way, the painful.

* * *

 **And there you go, next and final chapter coming soon.**

 **Next Chapter-** **Bridget looks back at how far she has come and how far she has to go as Erin makes a decision about her life and her future. Hank goes along for the ride, Bridget learns to forgive herself and finally things come full circle so to speak in the final chapter of this story! **


	42. Farewell My Lovely

**Hi, so here is the FINAL CHAPTER of this story! When I started this monster last year I didn't know where the character of Bridget would take me but I am pleased to say that I think I have left her in a good place. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and this story.**

 **I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the course of the writing of these forty two chapters. I want you to know your reviews and your favourites and your following has been a source of immense comfort and I hope to return to this great fandom when the inspiration strikes. Until then, happy reading.**

 **Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.**

 **Please Read and Review.**

* * *

Bridget

Chapter 42-Farwell My Lovely

Bridget looks back at how far she has come and how far she has to go as Erin makes a decision about her life and her future. Hank goes along for the ride, Bridget learns to forgive herself and finally things come full circle so to speak in the final chapter of this story!

* * *

The meeting was both painful and yet not painful. Looking back months later even years after the fact Bridget was still unsure of how she had felt as she had sat down at that kitchen table and confessed that she had been unable to get to Lexi. That Lexi had been in that house as a support for her. That the truth was that Lexi wouldn't have been at that party had it not been for Bridget and her stupid need to not feel anything.

And yet…she didn't cry. Meredith had never been a crier, Lexi had never been a crier in the same way Bridget had never been one for tears either. Both of them had been cops kids through and through and Meredith had been held hostage at her own kitchen table and had still not dissolved into tears.

It seemed as well like the grief that they both felt was beyond tears, and certainly if Bridget's feelings were anything to go by—she was certain that there were no tears left.

At the end of Bridget's uploading Meredith stared at her for a second and then her face seemed to soften a little around the edges. Bridget who had been expecting anger had not expected the hug. She couldn't remember the last time she had been held like that, as if by a mother. God knows Erin's hugs didn't feel the same way as that one did in Meredith's kitchen but she found as Meredith walked her to the car both of their faces showing a little less strain and with the promise that Bridget would never be a stranger, that the burden of living while her friend was dead had lifted a little.

It was she supposed a natural part of moving on.

Lexi though, Lexi would have said it was love.

She had Bridget thought as she drove home, always been a soppy bitch.

"Cow" said a voice inside her head and Bridget laughed without meaning too and then promptly had pull over into the nearest car park and contemplate that she was actually smiling over something again, and it didn't hurt.

When she went home last night she could have almost laughed. Her Dad had clearly been doing the whole pacing up and down thing that normal Dad's did when the dates came round. Of course hers would do it for another reason.

"Hey" she said smiling. One eyebrow was enough to tell her that it had been a long time since she had lasted smiled (as if she didn't know that already) and she found that she was a little bit more receptive to the hug as well.

* * *

Later that night when they sat down for dinner she found she could eat a little bit more. They spoke a little about Meredith but then as they were nearing the end of it Bridget was suddenly struck by an epiphany.

"Oh" she said finally. "Oh I get it now. Do you know something Dad? I think I've finally screwed myself to the point. I've reached it in my own head…"

"No I don't know" her Dad said watching her as if he was expecting her to suddenly suggests that they go to Mars or something.

"I don't blame myself anymore…for surviving"

Her Dad opened his mouth and then shut it. For a second he seemed to be thinking hard about what he was going to say and Bridget could almost see him crossing off the suggestions in his head because they were too…well…too Hank Voight to come out sensitive.

"It's ok" Bridget said after a second of watching this painful internal struggle. "Really It's ok. I think I had to get myself to this point alone and now I'm here well…I guess I cannot sink any lower so that has to be a good thing"

Her Dad looked as if he wanted to say something to that and then again thought better of it. Bridget didn't mind. The nightmare that had been going to see Lexi's mother was over. She found that night she could breathe a little easier and sleep a little easier, deeper and longer. And that she couldn't smell the stench of smoke which had haunted her since she had opened her eyes to a world without her mother, her brother and her best friend.

* * *

The drama was never over however. Even if by some miracle Hank got one daughter back to the land of the living something always had to happen to the other one. He had been denying the process, denying the fact that it had been coming for the better part of six months but he knew that deep down for certain Erin's career in Intelligence and potentially as a cop was coming to a close.

He wasn't surprised by it really. He could fight for Erin the same dogged fight he had fought for her when she had been fifteen, when Charlie had been in town, when Nadia had died, when she had moved Bingham's body for him, certainly whenever that mother of hers was interested in her. He had fought all of those fights even fighting for her career…a fight where he was convinced he couldn't win was something he could do. But…but the truth of the matter was he was tired of fighting. He had pulled or certainly helped pull Bridget back from the brink. He wasn't sure if he had another fight in him especially because it seemed like Erin herself wasn't even interested in fighting.

And then there was the dramatic involvement of Bunny Fletcher. Hank took stock of who he had lost since he had begun running this department, Jules, Nadia, Lexi…he would take them all for Bunny Fletcher. In fact he could throw Bunny Fletcher to the wolves that were the FBI for the hell of it, sit back with a scotch and watch nature take it's course but he had long since given up on that. Erin despite his best efforts didn't hate her mother enough to watch her rot for a crime that she didn't do (though Hank would bet his shield on her knowing it was coming one way or another) and a touch of calculation and interest ensured that his department was working the case.

The FEDs were a problem that he could deal with. Erin under an escort to sit at her own desk was not. Bridget going back to school without Lexi was not. If he was being honest he wasn't sure how much more he could take of this. Of this constant struggle between the two children he had left and how he was going to get them back onto even playing fields.

Camille he knew would tell him to relax and let Bridget and Erin do what was best but Hank had never been one for relaxing like that. All of his energy had to be burnt out somewhere or else the events of what was going down would continue to hit him and then…well…then he'd do something stupid.

He'd done it before after all. Browning, Bingham, Matt Casey, and look where that had gotten him. No son, no daughter at one point, and at another point in his life no job and a good long stretch inside. And Hank would be damned if he was going to prison again just because he couldn't control the noise in his head.

"You need a vacation" Al said when Hank told him this that night over a beer. "Take Bridget, take Erin and go somewhere warm for two weeks. Jay and Antonio can cover the department, go and be somewhere other than here when Erin's fired or demoted or reassigned. Go and spend some time with them. God knows what I would do for five more minutes…"

He trailed off and Hank knowing where his train of thoughts had gone (and resolutely not thinking of Bridget collapsing into Matt Casey's arms just at the point where he had thought he had lost the only thing that had kept him alive at one point) reached for his phone.

Various parts of Europe were supposed to be lovely at this time of year after all.

* * *

Erin came round that night they closed…or her Dad closed the case involving her mother with a look in her eye that told Bridget that she had made a decision and that she knew it was not going to go over very well. She and her Dad were locked in a room together for an hour or so and then when they came out Bridget who had known Erin since she was fifteen and she had been a scared and sad ten year old knew that Erin had made a decision to leave the department and to move on somewhere, out of the city, out of their lives, out of the job.

Once it might have upset her. But for the first time since Justin had died (and now she was admitting it probably since her Mom had died) she had managed to admit to herself that she was on a good emotional standing. She could talk she found about things that she had never wanted to talk about before and she knew that she was a little more older and wiser than that sixteen year old girl who had loved her brother and her father and had been unable to forgive Antonio for choosing something other than her family. She was more mature than the girl who had gotten the Cartier watch and the haircut and the black dress that had made her legs go long or who had given her virginity to Sean Roman simply because she had wanted to feel something other than the dread that came when you knew that something was wrong in the back of your mind.

She had lost most of her family but had somewhere along the lines gained a new one so when Erin told her she was leaving she didn't make a barbed comment, or some sort of joke or cry or scream. She took it as something that she had known was coming. Because she had ever since she had pulled her head out of her own grief and acknowledged what was coming.

"Your still gonna come to Europe right?"

"Hell yeah, your Dad's paying, wouldn't miss that for the world"

"Oh good, cause the drinking age in London is eighteen, now Erin and I can hit the town like we planned. Lexi would have been so jealous…god she'd have never let me hear the end of it."

Erin stared at her for a second and then at the smile that Bridget flashed at her and then laughed. Bridget laughed too and found that it didn't hurt or feel like a betrayal to feel things again.

"Ugh" was all her Dad said to that rather witty (or so she had thought) response. "I am going to find the take out menus."

He hugged her on the way out the door and Bridget hugged him back moving to sit next to Erin and listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen.

"Are you alright?" Erin asked finally tilting her head to the side as she took her in. Bridget turned to her and her smile was sanguine and as genuine as she could make it.

"No" she said truthfully. "I don't know if I will be alright for a long time. But I figured something out today. That whatever happens, whatever has happened…one way or the other...I will be"

And with that she sat back on the couch and let the night carry on, safe, secure and for the first time in a time too long ago to remember, happy.

It was no small thing for her she thought smiling. Happiness.

* * *

 **And for the last time let me know what you think. I thank you all again for your support over the course of writing this story.**

 **Happy Reading. **


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